THE   SECRET   OF  THE   CLAN 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  •    BOSTON  •    CHICAGO 
DALLAS  •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd, 

TORONTO 


We  drank  it  solemnly,  from  mugs  and  broken  cups." 


THE 

SECRET   OF   THE   CLAN 


BY 
ALICE   BROWN 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 

SARAH   K.   SMITH 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1918 

AH  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1912, 
Bv  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  October,  191a.     Reprinted 
October,  19x3  ;  August,  1913;  June,  August,  1914;  February,  1917. 


Kortoooto  IBrrss 

J.  S.  Cushing  Co.  —  Berwick  <fc  Smith  Oo. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO 

THE  TRIBE 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.     The  Grandmother I 

II.     The  Tribe .15 

III.  The  Wigwam 29 

IV.  Uncle  Terry 51 

V.  The  Midnight  Hunt         ....  64 

VI.     The  Tribal  Oath 91 

VII.     Major 114 

VIII.     Crandma 127 

IX.    Just  Grandpa 147 

X.     The  Fairy  Queen 167 

XI.     Turkey  Red 185 

XII.     Red  Riding  Hood 206 

XIII.  Fairy  Walks 226 

XIV.  The  Sentence 246 

XV.     Rain-in-the-Face 269 

XVI.  The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         .  295 


VII 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

'  We  drank  it  solemnly  from  mugs  and  broken  cups  "    Frontispiece 


PAGE 


"I  had  a  very  low  opinion  of  my  self*  ■    ....  3 

"And  we  two  old  ladies  went  back  into  the  sitting  room"        11 

"  'Get  up/  she  said,  'Ruth's  lost.'  "  y6 

"'Laura/    said   Grandma,    'look   up   here.      Let  me  see 

whose  eyes  you've  got.'  9*    •  .  .  .  .128 

"  Marcia    was    greatly    excited,    and   so  pleased   with  her 

letter  that  she  read  very  fast "        .  .  .  .148 

"  We  went  up  to  the  stove  and  stood  in  a  huddled  group, 
watching  Mary  toast  and  thinking  how  hard  things 
were  for  us"      .  .  .  .  .  .  .154 

"  He  came  out  bringing  a  measure  full  of  red-cheeked  seckel 

pears"     .  .  .  .  .  .  .         .164 

"  He  stopped  short,  and  she  stopped  and  dropped  her  little 

blue  handbag  .    .   ."  .  .  .  .  .  .172 

"  I  happened  to  glance  at  Titania  .   .   .   and  her  blue  eyes 

were  full  of  tears "      .  .  .  .  •  .183 

"Over  this  riot  of  basting  and  what  Titania  called  'gob- 
bling', Grandma  reigned  with  an  eager  pleasure  "      .      199 

" .   .   .   The  most  lovely  figure,  all  silver  gauze  and  floating 

draperies"         •••••••     223 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  CLAN 

CHAPTER   I 

THE    GRANDMOTHER 

IT  was  a  late,  cold  afternoon  in  October  when  I 
first  went  north  and  inland  from  my  seashore 
home  of  Sedgmoor,  to  live  with  the  Tribe. 
(Only  it  didn't  know  it  was  the  Tribe  then.  That 
came  later.)  I  was  rather  little  and  very  sad  when 
pretty  young  Aunt  Tabitha  put  me  on  the  train  for 
my  lone  journey,  to  stay  for  a  year  at  least  with  the 
three  second  cousins  I  had  never  seen  and  their 
Step-Grandmother,  while  Aunt  Tabitha  went  abroad. 
She  was  perfectly  certain  it  was  a  cruel  thing  to  do, 
this  sending  an  orphan  child  away  by  herself  to 
an  unknown,  however  welcoming,  house ;  but  the 
Grandmother  had  written  her :  — 

"  Tabitha,  it  must  be  done.  You  can't  learn  to 
sing  any  better  than  you  are  singing  unless  you 
study  abroad.  And  here  is  the  money  for  it,  and 
Til  take  care  of  the  child.     And,  Tabitha,  you  must 


2  '  The  Secret  j  of  the  Clan 

change  youf  *  name1 to  ;  Rosalind  or  something.  I 
know  Tabitha  is  a  family  name  of  which  you  may 
be  justly  proud ;  but  it  won't  look  well  on  concert 
programmes.  So,  change  it,  dear,  before  you  begin 
to  sing." 

Aunt  Tabitha  had  laughed,  when  she  read  this 
about  her  name ;  but  it  had  made  me  cry.  If  she 
was  going  to  change  her  name,  it  didn't  seem  as  if 
she  would  be  Aunt  Tabitha  at  all. 

I  was  a  doleful,  thin  creature  with  a  pale  face  and 
freckled  nose,  which  I  had  scoured  with  sand  only 
the  night  before  starting,  and  Aunt  Tabitha,  discov- 
ering its  mysterious  rawness,  had  anointed  with 
camphor  ice ;  and  I  wore  a  brown  cashmere,  made 
out  of  deceased  Aunt  Aiken's  Sunday  dress,  dis- 
covered in  the  attic  when  Aunt  Tabitha  overhauled 
the  whole  house  to  find  clothes  for  us  both.  I  had 
a  sense  of  queer  discomfort  in  the  dress.  I  hated 
to  touch  it,  and  kept  my  hands  gingerly  away  from 
it,  because  I  had  seen  the  newspaper  notice  of  Aunt 
Aiken's  death,  and  read  into  it  the  certainty  that 
she  was  "  diseased  "  instead  of  "  deceased  ",  which 
seemed  more  unpleasant  than  death  itself.  I  wore 
a  thick  coat  of  black  beaver,  which,  though  "  like  a 
board  ",  as  the  village  dressmaker  said,  was  insuffi- 


"I  had  a  very  low  opinion  of  myself.' ' 


The  Grandmother  3 

cient  to  defy  the  cold,  because  it  set  out  from  my 
small  body  and  let  the  wind  whistle  under  it.  I 
wore  also  a  red  hood  with  a  fuzzy  edge,  this  because 
Mrs.  Robinson,  the  pedler's  wife  "down-along", 
had  a  firm  idea  that  "  north  "  was  near  the  North 
Pole,  and  had  persuaded  Aunt  Tabitha  to  pack  my 
hat  and  muffle  me  in  the  hood.  So  when  the  con- 
ductor, as  if  he  were  tired  of  me,  handed  me  off  at 
the  station  in  the  lead-colored  twilight,  and  three 
children  pounced  upon  me  with  a  scramble  and  a 
rush,  I  had  a  very  low  opinion  of  myself;  and  when 
they  took  my  little  bag  away  from  me,  and  offered 
me  three  friendly  "  Hullo's ",  I  had  nothing  at  all 
to  say,  and  that  cooled  them  to  the  same  degree. 
They  gave  my  check  to  an  expressman,  and  we  left 
the  station,  and  walked  along  a  wide  street  with  big 
houses  now  beginning  to  be  lighted ;  we  were  like 
two  pairs  of  little  dumb  creatures  that  were  afraid 
of  even  looking  at  one  another.  My  eyes  were  all 
tears,  and  if  I  had  been  separated  from  the  three  that 
night,  I  shouldn't  have  known  them  again.  Only 
I  did  know  their  names.  They  were,  in  the  order 
of  ages,  Marcia  and  Kate  and  Ruth,  and  Marcia 
was  a  little  older  than  I.  It  had  been  represented 
by  Aunt  Tabitha,  when  the  prospect  of  my  going 


4  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

had  been  set  before  me,  that  though  I  was  no  rela- 
tion at  all  to  this  grandmother,  because  she  was  a 
second  wife  with  no  children  of  her  own,  she  was 
prepared  to  mother  me  exactly  like  the  other  three 
she  was  mothering,  and  that,  although  the  three 
themselves  had  never  seen  me,  they  were  only  wait- 
ing to  take  me  into  their  games  and  hearts.  But 
at  this  moment,  the  unknown  grandmother  seemed 
to  me  more  or  less  like  the  Ogress  in  a  fairy-book, 
and  the  children  her  little  Ogres  sent  out  to  bring 
me  home  to  the  boiling  pot.  Marcia  spoke  in 
rather  a  hoarse  voice. 

"In  here,"  said  she,  and  we  turned  up  a  path 
through  a  shrubby  yard  with  some  evergreens  and 
advanced  upon  a  big  white  house  with  pillars  in 
front. 

It  looked  very  grand  to  me.  I  was  used  to 
small  shingled  houses  and  yards  with  boats  full  of 
geraniums  and  wandering-jew.  Marcia  threw  open 
the  door,  and  because  I  was  too  desperate  and  too 
bashful  to  hang  back,  I  stumbled  in,  and  saw,  in 
the  big  old-fashioned  sitting  room,  a  slender  and 
beautiful  old  lady,  reading  her  paper  by  the  last 
light  of  day.  At  the  opening  of  the  door  she  had 
glanced  up  over  her  glasses ;  but  seeing  who  it  was, 


The  Grandmother  5 

she  put  down  her  paper,  and  rose  and  hurried 
forward  to  meet  us. 

"Why,"  said  she,  "  I  expected  to  hear  you." 

Afterward,  when  the  four  of  us  were  in  the  habit 
of  throwing  open  the  door  and  plunging  in,  all  tell- 
ing our  adventures  at  once,  I  could  see  that  she  had 
been  waiting  for  that  kind  of  an  entrance.  But  she 
understood  it  all,  —  how  I  had  been  so  frozen  by 
my  homesickness  and  misery  that  I  had  chilled  the 
other  three,  —  and  she  just  untied  my  hood  and 
began  to  unbutton  my  coat. 

"  Marcia,"  said  she,  "  you  put  on  a  stick  in  the 
dining  room.  Kay,  there's  a  letter  for  you  in  the 
hall  from  your  other  Grandma.  Ruth,  you  run 
and  tell  Mary  to  give  us  some  raspberry  for 
supper." 

So,  in  the  turn  of  a  hand,  she  had  dispersed 
them,  and  she  and  I  were  alone.  I  was  no  more 
afraid.  She  had  seen  at  once  that  I  was  an  old- 
fashioned  child,  and  she  spoke  to  me  as  if  I  were 
her  own  age  or  but  little  younger. 

"  Don't  you  think,"  said  she,  "it's  very  cold  for 
this  time  of  year  ?  " 

Immediately  a  weight  was  lifted  from  my  heart, 
and  I  felt  soothed.      At  least,  her  words  told  me, 


6  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

there  was  to  be  sensible  conversation ;  and  I  was 
used  to  grown  people,  used  to  being  the  only  child 
in  the  house. 

"  Yes'm,"  I  said,  "  I  think  it  is." 

Meantime  she  had  folded  my  hood  together,  had 
gravely  laid  the  mittens  with  the  knit  pattern  on 
the  backs,  in  a  chair,  and  slipped  off  my  little,  hard 
coat.  I  had  liked  my  mittens  extremely,  and  had 
felt  a  wild  desire  to  learn  the  pattern  from  the 
minister's  wife,  who  had  given  them  to  me ;  but 
now  I  fell  into  doubt  about  them,  because  Marcia's, 
I  had  had  time  to  see,  were  leather  with  fur  at  the 
wrists.  The  Grandmother  seemed  to  read  that,  in 
some  curious  way  she  had,  for  she  took  them  up 
now  and  put  them  together  in  her  hands  with  a 
motion  that  was  almost  loving. 

"  Such  nice  mittens  !  "  said  she.  "I've  been  try- 
ing to  knit  Marcia  some,  but  I  haven't  got  to  it. 
Now  I'm  going  to  give  you  a  nail  for  your  own  in 
the  hall  closet,  and  when  you  come  in,  you  can 
always  hang  your  things  there." 

So  we  went  to  the  closet,  I  quite  eagerly  bearing 
my  coat  and  hood,  as  if  everything  she  asked  must 
be  done  instantly,  to  please  her ;  and  I  had  my  nail 
given  me,  and  then  we  went  up  to  my  little  bed- 


The  Grandmother  y 

room,  opening  out  of  one  where  there  were  two 
narrow  beds,  two  washstands,  two  everything.  I 
learned  later  that  this  last  was  known  as  Kay-and- 
Marcia's  room,  as  if  it  were  all  one  word.  It  was  a 
queer  room,  simple  and  pretty,  and  yet  full  of  a 
confusion  of  things :  snowshoes,  books,  skates,  and 
even  carpenter's  and  gardener's  tools.  I  was  also 
to  learn  that  there  were  few  trades  Marcia  did  not 
at  some  time  adopt  and  tire  of  pursuing.  There  a 
great  black  dog  lay  flat  with  his  head  on  the  floor. 

"  Oh ! "  said  I,  a  little  startled,  for  he  seemed  a 
very  big  dog  indeed. 

But  that  was  only  because  I  was  so  homesick 
and  so  strange.  He  was  perhaps  as  large  as  a 
setter,  a  dog  of  no  kind,  Marcia  told  me  afterward 
when  I  asked  what  kind  he  was ;  but  she  hugged 
him  lavishly  while  she  said  it,  and  seemed  to  love 
him  the  better  for  it.  He  cocked  his  eyes  at  us, 
wrinkling  his  forehead  and  not  raising  his  head.  It 
was  evident  the  one  he  looked  for  had  not  come. 
The  Grandmother  showed  me  drawers  and  cubby- 
holes in  my  own  little  room,  and,  with  a  kind 
motion,  herself  turned  down  a  corner  of  my  bed,  as 
if  introducing  me  to  it  beforehand.  I  loved  my 
room  at  once,  the  little  bureau  with  the  brass  pulls, 


8  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

the  tarnished  mirror  adorned  by  a  tight-waisted 
lady  advancing  from  a  background  of  yellow 
curtains  to  a  child,  with  the  wings  of  Cupid  though 
without  his  bow,  who  was  roguishly  inviting  her 
from  the  foreground.  I  began  to  feel  at  peace. 
There  was  no  sight  or  sound  of  the  three  children, 
and  I  really  hoped  we  were  to  lead  a  rational  life, 
we  two  old  ladies  together.  Then  presently  she 
left  me  alone  with  my  little  queer  trunk  full,  I  knew 
well,  of  queer  clothes,  and  told  me  to  come  down  as 
soon  as  I  felt  like  it,  to  supper.  So  for  a  time  I 
was  happy  and  busy  over  unpacking  and  putting 
away,  though  when  I  took  out  my  sad-colored 
clothes,  I  did  look  doubtfully  at  them.  Aunt 
Tabitha  was  a  darling  aunt,  but  her  mind  was  on 
training  her  clear  high  voice  to  its  best  capacity. 
She  knew  very  little  about  clothes,  children's 
clothes  least  of  all.  By  and  by  when  it  had  grown 
really  dark  and  I  found  myself  too  timid  to  try 
lighting  the  gas  —  we  had  no  gas  in  Aunt  Tabitha's 
house  —  I  went  downstairs  as  softly  as  I  could. 
But  the  Grandmother  heard  me.  She  had  been 
sitting  by  the  blaze  in  the  big  room,  and  she  came 
out  into  the  hall  and  took  me  by  the  hand. 
cc  Come,"  she  said,  "  we'll  go  in  to  supper." 


The  Grandmother  9 

So  we  turned  into  the  dining  room,  where  there 
was  another  blazing  fire,  and  I  had  time  to  get 
rather  sick  with  the  dread  of  not  having  brought 
with  me  manners  good  enough  for  so  fine  a  place. 
But  she  put  me  at  her  right  hand,  and  I  noticed, 
with  a  sinking  of  the  heart,  that  four  other  places 
were  laid.  Three  must  be  for  the  cousins.  I  knew 
how  they  would  rush  in  and  seat  themselves  with 
the  noise  and  dash  of  children  perfectly  at  home. 
The  other  must  be  for  their  uncle.  He  was  Uncle 
Terry,  and  Aunt  Tabitha  had  told  me  he  was  the 
children's  own  uncle,  but  not  exactly  mine,  and  that 
he  wrote  beautiful  books.  The  Grandmother  rang 
a  bell,  and  in  came  Mary,  a  tall,  splendid  Mary 
with  blue  eyes  and  smooth  plentiful  black  hair,  and 
a  soft  rose  skin  punctured  with  dimples  like  the 
prickings  in  nice  crusts ;  and  she  bore  tea  and 
cream  toast,  and  placed  them  before  the  Grand- 
mother. She  did  not  really  look  at  me,  but, 
though  I  knew  it  was  because  she  saw  I  was  lone 
and  shy,  I  was  willing  she  should.  Mary  seemed 
to  me  exactly  right. 

"  Where  are  they,  Mary  ? "  the  Grandmother 
asked,  making  me  a  delightful  plate  of  thin  tongue 
and  toast. 


io  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  They  went  swarming  up  the  hill,  m'm,"  said 
Mary.  She  had  a  rich  voice  and  a  nice  way  of 
speaking.  "  Marcia  was  dragging  'em.  I  heard 
her  tell  'em  to  come  along." 

"  Oh,"  said  the  Grandmother.  It  was  a  tone  of 
regret  but  no  surprise.  "  Is  that  so  ?  Have  you 
called  Mr.  Terry  ?  " 

"  He's  gone  horseback  riding,"  said  Mary. 
"  He  went  about  half  an  hour  ago." 

These  things  had  all  happened  half  an  hour  ago, 
and  I  gained  an  immediate  and  depressing  certainty 
that  they  had  happened  because  of  me.  An  awk- 
ward and  dumb  child  had  suddenly  been  thrown 
into  the  house.  No  wonder  everybody  had  fled, 
everybody  but  the  Grandmother;  and  doubtless 
she  would  have  gone,  too,  except  that  it  was  her 
house  and  she  had  to  stay.  My  toast  choked  me, 
and  I  let  my  fork  fall  with  a  clang  that  must,  I 
thought,  be  heard  by  the  four  flying  from  my 
presence,  to  make  them  glad  again  that  they  had 
flown.  But  Mary,  with  the  same  kind  air  of  not 
looking  at  me,  gave  me  another  fork,  and  the 
Grandmother  kept  her  in  the  room  and  talked  to 
her.  It  was  a  steady  stream  of  gentle  inquiries  : 
about  the  preserves,  the  butter  to  order  next  day, 


M  And  we  two  old  ladies  went  back  into  the  sitting  room." 


The  Grandmother  n 

the  little  Berry  girl's  cough,  —  all  intended,  I  knew 
even  then,  to  leave  me  in  my  shy  seclusion.  And 
then  supper  was  over  and  They  had  not  come.  (In 
my  own  mind  I  had  begun  to  call  the  other  three  a 
terrifying  They.)  But  the  Grandmother  had  not 
forgotten  them. 

"  Keep  the  toast  hot,"  she  said  to  Mary,  still  in 
her  gentle  manner  of  advising,  not  ordering. 
"Tell  them  to  go  up  to  bed  and  undress  quietly. 
They  needn't  say  good  night." 

She  took  my  hand  again,  and  we  two  old  ladies 
went  back  into  the  sitting  room,  and  she  placed  me 
in  a  rather  small  chair  at  one  side  of  the  hearth, 
while  she  sat  at  the  other  and  asked  me  soft  grown- 
up questions:  about  Aunt  Tabitha,  about  her 
plans,  and  whether  I  didn't  think  she  had  a  very 
nice  voice.  I  gained  courage  in  the  quiet  and  the 
firelight  to  look  at  her.  She  was  slender  and  really 
beautiful,  and  at  my  age  then  I  thought  her  very 
old.  She  had  wavy  white  hair  and  a  lace  point  on 
it,  and  a  delicate  profile,  and  fine  skin  tinted  some- 
times with  a  little  flush,  and  her  dress  was  perfect : 
soft  silk  and  lovely  lace.  There  was  no  pretence 
about  her  that  she  wasn't  an  old  lady.  She  moved 
slowly  and  talked  softly,  and  she  seemed  to  live  in 


12  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

the  same  kind  of  hush  you  feel  in  an  autumn  day. 
It  was  still  early  when  the  fire  warmth  and  light, 
and  her  kindness,  and  the  sense  that  we  were  two 
happy  "  elderly  people "  together  and  need  never 
be  afraid  of  being  broken  in  upon  by  riotous 
young,  made  me  so  drowsily  contented  that  I  real- 
ized something  queer  was  happening  to  me.  My 
head  nod-nodded  down  to  my  knee,  and  I  kept 
catching  it  back  and  making  it  stiff  on  my  neck, 
while  I  said,  "Yesm"  and  "Norn".  This  she 
must  have  seen,  though  she  gave  no  token  of  it  for 
a  time,  but  talked  quietly  on  about  Aunt  Tabitha,  I 
only  recognizing  Aunt  Tabitha's  name  when  it 
came  in,  and  wishing,  with  a  desperate  energy,  that 
I  could  just  once  put  my  arms  down  on  the  table 
and  rest  my  head  on  them.  If  I  could  do  that,  I 
knew  I  could  listen  with  perfect  ease  to  everything 
anybody  could  possibly  say.  Nothing  was  the 
matter  except  that  I  couldn't  keep  my  head  up. 
But  at  the  instant  when  I  was  almost  praying  inside 
that  I  could  put  my  head  down  on  the  table,  the 
Grandmother  got  up  and  held  out  her  hand. 

"  Come,"  said  she,  "  time  to  go  to  bed.  You've 
had  a  long  journey. " 

So  she  took  me  upstairs  again  into  my  little  room, 


The  Grandmother  13 

and  looked  about  to  see  that  everything  was  right. 
Mary  had  turned  the  bed  down,  a  real  turning,  not 
the  pretty  hint  the  Grandmother  had  given  it,  and 
the  gas  was  lighted  and  burning  low. 

"  Got  your  nightie  out?"  the  Grandmother  asked 
me.  "  Oh,  yes,  so  you  have.  You  needn't  turn 
your  gas  out,  nor  put  up  the  windows.  I'll  be  in, 
in  twenty  minutes  or  so,  and  see  to  it.     Good  night." 

She  stooped  and  gave  me  a  delicate  little  kiss,  all 
fragrance  from  lace  and  nice  things  that  have  lived 
in  dainty  boxes,  and  I  wanted  to  tell  her  she  was 
the  most  beautiful  lady  I  ever  saw.  But  that,  of 
course,  could  not  be  done.  I  didn't  even  dare 
return  the  kiss.  I  kept  hers  for  my  own,  to  think 
about.  At  the  door  she  stopped  a  moment,  and 
then  came  back. 

"  I  believe  I'll  shut  this,"  she  said,  and  to  my 
great  relief,  closed  the  door  between  me  and  Kay- 
and-Marcia's  room.  "  They  may  be  coming  in 
late." 

Then  she  really  went,  and  I  undressed,  wishing 
my  little  plain  clothes  were  frilled  with  hamburg, 
since  she  must  see  them  when  she  came  in  again. 
I  hurried  to  be  in  bed  as  she  expected,  wondering 
all  the  time  what  kirid  of  a  queer  house  it  was  where 


14  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

the  children  were  understood  to  be  out  late,  and 
what  kind  of  a  Kay-and-Marcia  it  was  who  wanted 
to  be  out,  while  I  was  afraid  as  soon  as  it  was  dark 
under  the  table ;  and  I  got  into  bed  and  fixed  my 
eyes  wide  open,  to  be  sure  to  see  the  Grandmother 
when  she  came.  But  really  the  first  thing  I  saw 
was  the  softness  of  morning  light  trying  to  push  in 
between  the  blinds. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    TRIBE 

WHILE  I  dressed,  the  house  seemed  to  me 
very  quiet,  and  I  was  much  afraid  of 
being  late  to  breakfast.  Indeed,  when  I 
went  down  the  stairs,  it  was  quite  surely  the  middle 
of  the  forenoon,  and  the  brightness  of  the  day  only 
made  it  seem  the  more  dreadful  that  I  should  have 
been  so  ill-behaved.  Breakfast,  of  course,  was  out 
of  the  way,  but  for  that  I  did  not  care :  only  that 
everybody  would  know  I  had  been  late.  At  the 
sound  of  my  foot  on  the  stairs,  there  she  was, 
the  Grandmother,  coming  out  of  the  sitting  room, 
and  I  knew  she  had  been  waiting  for  me.  She  was 
even  prettier,  I  thought,  by  day,  though  she  looked 
older,  too.  But  her  smile  was  so  sweet,  her  eyes  so 
kind,  and  her  whole  manner  so  gentle  and  gracious, 
—  well,  there  was  nobody  like  her.  I  have  learned 
since  that  she  had  been  a  great  beauty ;  but  nothing 
could  have  been  more  enchanting  than  her  air  and 
manner  in  those  days  when  youth  was  gone. 

l5 


1 6  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Come  right  in  and  have  breakfast/'  she  said, 
"and  Mary'll  bring  me  some,  too.  I  always  have 
a  cup  of  something  hot  when  I  get  a  little  tired." 

So  it  was  the  middle  of  the  forenoon :  for  that, 
I  found  out  as  I  knew  her,  was  her  hour  for  taking 
the  something  hot.  We  went  in  to  the  table,  and 
Mary  served  us,  and  I  had  time  to  see  how  gay  the 
dining  room  was  with  sunshine  and  plants,  and  to 
be  the  more  depressed  by  it,  because  I  seemed  to 
be  such  an  ugly  weed  in  so  bright  a  place.  Still 
there  was  no  sign  of  the  missing  three,  and  I  began 
to  have  an  unreasoning  hope  that  they  had  dis- 
appeared altogether,  leaving  us  old  ladies  to  our 
quiet  life.  But  just  as  I  was  settling  down  to  a 
grateful  confidence  and,  with  unheard-of  bravery, 
embarking  on  a  sentence  of  my  own  concerning 
Aunt  Tabitha's  steamer  trunk,  the  front  door  came 
open,  —  it  seemed  to  burst  of  its  own  will,  — -  and  in 
they  piled,  the  three  of  them  with  the  uproar  of 
thirty.  Into  the  dining  room  they  came,  chiefly 
because  the  force  of  their  entrance  was  so  great  that 
they  had  to  come  somewhere ;  but  once  in  they 
stopped  short,  breathing  hard,  and  became  very 
quiet.  I  knew  why.  It  was  the  little  strange  guest 
that  put  a  damper  on  them,  and  I  was  sick  with  the 


The  Tribe 


I? 


certainty  that  it  was  always  going  to  be  so,  and  that 
I  never  could  bear  it.  I  looked  at  my  plate,  and 
knew  by  instinct  that  if  I  cried,  they  would  despise 
me  all  the  more.  They  were  gallant  youngsters, 
I  felt  already.  The  Grandmother  began  to  speak 
to  them  with  a  certain  meaning  in  her  tone,  though 
it  was  very  gentle,  and  while  she  talked,  I  gained 
courage  to  look  up ;  and  because  they  were  pointedly 
not  looking  at  me,  I  stared  at  them.  I  had  read 
how  travellers,  fascinated  by  fear,  gaze  at  the  wild 
animal  that  is  to  eat  them.  These  were  the  crea- 
tures that  were,  I  knew,  to  torment  me  by  their 
silent  dislike  and  their  knowledge  of  my  queerness, 
and  I  stared  at  them  because  I  must.  Marcia  and 
Kate  were  somewhat  alike,  though  Marcia  was  the 
bigger :  long-legged,  lean  creatures  with  fearless 
gray  eyes  and  noses  with  the  least  little  masterful 
curve,  and  thick  light-brown  hair  in  heavy  braids. 
Ruth  was  shorter,  rounder,  a  pink  thing  with  curly 
hair  growing  in  a  peak  on  her  white  forehead :  a  little 
woman,  though  so  small. 

"  Have  you  heard  whether  Miss  Miles  is  coming 
back?"  the  Grandmother  was  asking. 

"No,  Gramma,"  Marcia  and  Kate  answered  to- 
gether, and  then  Kate  retired  to  let  Marcia  finish. 


1 8  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Miss  Miles  wouldn't  be  back  for  a  month.  Her 
aunt  was  no  better.  Maybe,  if  her  aunt  didn't  get 
better  at  all,  Miss  Miles  would  have  to  go  and  live 
with  her. 

I  thought  there  was  some  triumph  in  this,  and 
also  a  slight  eagerness,  as  if  it  mightn't  be  so  bad 
after  all.  I  knew  well  enough  who  Miss  Miles 
was,  from  the  Grandmother's  letters  to  Aunt 
Tabitha.  She  was  the  governess,  and  lived  in  the 
village.  The  Grandmother  didn't  think  very  well 
of  public  schools,  and  she  intended  to  give  me  also 
the  benefit  of  Miss  Miles's  training. 

"  Well ! "  said  the  Grandmother. 

She  appeared  to  consider  for  a  moment,  and  then 
she  roused  to  the  task  of  bringing  us  silent  ones 
together.  I  had  finished  my  breakfast,  and  sat  like 
a  little  wooden  figure,  with  just  one  desire  in  my 
heart :  to  be  invisible. 

"  Now ! "  said  the  Grandmother.  She  spoke  it 
brightly,  as  if  she  knew  just  how  we  should  hate 
what  she  was  going  to  say.  "  Uncle  Terry  is  out. 
Suppose  you  all  go  up  into  the  third  story.  I  want 
Laura  to  get  acquainted  with  the  house." 

I  was  Laura.  But  she  might  as  well,  for  the  ef- 
fect it  had  on  me,  have  said,  "  I  want  Laura  to  be 


The  Tribe  19 

thrown  to  the  lions  in  the  arena."  I  did  not  dare 
look  at  my  unwilling  guides,  but  I  knew  they  were 
taking  off  their  things :  Marcia  the  fur  cap  I  ad- 
mired with  a  hopeless  passion,  and  Kate  the  hat 
with  a  blue  wing  that  was  only  a  shade  less  "  know- 
ing ".  The  Grandmother  was  evidently  determined 
to  do  it  with  a  rush. 

"  I'll  hang  up  your  things,"  said  she.  "  Run 
along,  the  whole  clan  of  you.  Laura  belongs  to  the 
Clan  now." 

I  got  out  of  my  chair  and  followed  desperately  on, 
and  the  only  thing  that  saved  me  from  bellowing  for 
mercy  was  the  certainty  that  Marcia  would  despise 
me.  Up  the  stairs  we  went,  in  heavy  silence,  broken 
only  once  when  Marcia  called  over  the  rail :  — 

"  Come  on,  Pete." 

He  was  somewhere  behind  closed  doors  ;  but  I 
heard  a  scurry  and  rush  and  bang,  and  he  came 
charging  up  among  our  legs,  wagging  and  curveting. 
He  wasn't  silent.  Then  we  went  up  another  long 
flight  and  were  in  the  enchanted  ground  of  the 
third  story.  One  door  was  closed,  and  Kate  said 
shortly,  as  if  she  were  an  unwilling  and  awkward 
showman :  — 

"  That's  Uncle  Terry's  room." 


20  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Then  we  stepped  into  the  big  room  that  took  up 
half  the  floor  of  the  house,  and  had  been  turned  into 
a  playroom  by  this  splendid  grandmother  who  wanted 
the  three  to  have  more  fun  than  any  thirty  children 
ever  had.  The  whole  west  end  of  it  was  made  of 
windows,  side  by  side.  There  was  a  fireplace  at  the 
other  end,  and  in  the  middle  a  big  table  with  quan- 
tities of  drawers.  There  were  cases  on  the  wall, 
cases  of  books,  of  queer  things  labelled,  which  I 
found  out  soon  to  be  "  specimens ",  though  the 
strangest  that  ever  came  together  in  a  cabinet. 
There  were  a  few  arrow-heads,  an  old  bottle,  care- 
fully corked  and  ticketed,  with  a  slip  of  paper  in- 
side. That,  I  found,  when  we  had  time  to  go  over 
the  collection  carefully,  was  a  letter  from  ship- 
wrecked mariners,  sealed  up  in  the  bottle  on  a  day 
when  "ship"  was  being  played.  In  one  corner 
there  were  several  plates  of  shopworn  biscuits  and 
ends  of  cake  :  for  when  any  one  of  the  three  be- 
came especially  delighted  with  food  she  could  not 
finish,  she  was  likely  to  visit  Mary  in  the  kitchen 
and  make  petition  to  carry  her  uneaten  bit  away, 
"to  save".  There  were  riches  in  the  playroom, 
that  day  unexplored.  The  paper  on  the  wall  was 
all  castles  and  lakes  and  boats,  and  ladies  and  gen- 


The  Tribe  ai 

tlemen  wandering  about  and  doing  nothing  in  par- 
ticular except  lean  on  each  other ;  and  the  floor  was 
of  shiny  wood  and  very  bright.  It  seemed  to  me, 
come  from  cramped  walls,  yet  walls  I  dearly  loved 
and  now  was  pining  for,  a  whole  beautiful  world. 
But  it  was  a  world  we  were,  by  reason  of  our 
strangeness  to  one  another,  quite  wretched  in. 
Marcia  turned  to  Kate  and  said,  in  a  low  tone  that 
seemed  to  ask  how  they  could  possibly  lighten  the 
weight  of  the  heavy  child  cast  on  their  shoulders:  — 

«  What'll  we  do  ?  " 

Kate  shook  her  head.  They  looked  gloomily  at 
each  other,  and  I  saw  the  whole  winter  unrolling 
itself  before  them,  always  with  the  heavy  child  tied 
about  their  necks.  What  could  they  do  ?  I  won- 
dered as  wretchedly  as  they  did.  I  wished  with  all 
my  soul  I  could  cry  out,  "  Oh,  let  me  go  down- 
stairs and  sit  with  Her ! "  But  I  knew  it  couldn't 
be  done.  I  had  got  to  play  out  the  difficult  game 
of  being  a  little  girl  with  other  little  girls.  And 
then  Ruth,  who  had  been  poking  some  paper  and 
kindling  under  the  charred  sticks  left  from  the  last 
fire,  called  out :  — 

"  Battledore ! " 

They  seemed  to  pluck  up  heart.     I  believe  if  she 


22  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

had  called  "  Fishing  !  "  or  "  Somersaults  !  "  or 
"  Climbing  trees  !  "  it  would  have  heartened  them 
just  as  much.  We  were  in  a  calm  where  a  little 
breeze  meant  everything. 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  M arcia.  "  We  could.  You 
get  the  things,  Kay." 

And  while  Kate  got  out  the  battledores  and 
shuttlecocks,  Marcia  coaxed  Pete  up  on  a  chair  and 
bade  him  sit :  for  he  was  dangerous  to  the  game  if 
you  left  him  loose,  his  idea  being  that  a  doggie  could 
take  part  in  it  by  leaps  and  runs.  Kate  came  to  me 
with  a  battledore,  and  I  fell  back  a  step. 

"I  don't  believe  I  can,"  I  said,  in  a  small,  choked 
voice.     "  I  don't  know  how." 

"  Oh,  come  on,"  said  Marcia,  bluffly.  I  realized 
that,  although  they  were  not  lone  and  shy  like  me, 
the  three  of  them  had  played  together  so  long  that 
any  stranger  thrust  upon  them  upset  their  habits 
and  made  them  wretched.     "  We'll  show  you." 

But  I  would  not  be  shown.  I  backed  away,  and 
pretended  to  look  at  a  cabinet,  —  one  where  there 
happened  to  be  nothing  whatever  collected,  —  and 
they  gave  me  up  and  began  to  play.  As  soon  as 
they  ceased  to  see  me,  I  watched  them,  and  in  a 
minute  I  was  afire  with  admiration  of  them,  their 


The  Tribe  23 

swift,  easy  grace,  the  unfailing  flight  of  the  feathered 
bob  from  one  battledore  to  the  other,  never  once 
falling.  Presently  Ruth,  her  fire  ablaze,  slipped 
round  to  my  side,  and  stood  there  with  me,  watch- 
ing, to  give  me,  I  knew,  a  feeling  of  companionship. 
And  suddenly  it  was  done,  the  magical  thing  that 
forces  a  door  and  lets  the  people  on  each  side  of  it 
mingle  and  crowd  the  door  quite  open.  The 
shuttlecock  went  wide.  It  flew  across  Pete's  nose, 
and  Pete,  whom  we  had  forgotten,  where  he  sat 
quivering  and  panting  to  be  in  the  game  the  humans 
had  mysteriously  determined  to  keep  to  themselves, 
he  caught  it  in  his  mouth.  And  all  at  once  we  gave 
a  yell  of  delight  in  him  and  his  cleverness,  and 
Marcia  threw  down  her  battledore  and  hugged  him, 
and  he  tumbled  off  his  chair,  and  she  with  him  to 
the  floor  and  tousled  him,  and  Kate  picked  up  the 
shuttlecocks  and  stuck  them  in  Ruth's  curly  hair  ; 
and  seeing  them  there,  1  cried  out,  I  didn't  know 
why,  but  wildly  from  the  madness  to  be  in  it,  in  this 
beautiful  world  of  everybody  playing  and  nobody 
afraid :  — 

"  Let's  be  a  tribe  of  Indians  !  " 

Marcia  stopped  trying  to  tie  Pete's  forelegs  to- 
gether with  her  hair  ribbon,  and  turned  on  her  elbow 


24  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

to  look  at  me,  while  he  saw  his  chance  and  worried 
her  with  great  growling.  She  was  much  amazed, 
I  could  see  that.  It  was  as  if  one  of  the  andirons 
had  shrieked  for  scalps. 

"  D'you  ever  do  it  ?  "  she  challenged  me.  Words 
were  greatly  shortened  in  those  days. 

Now  I  was  doubly  scared  because  I  was  in  for 
I  knew  not  what.      But  there  was  no  turning  back. 

"  No,"  said  I,  boldly,  finding  at  once  that  the 
bolder  you  sound,  the  simpler  it  is  to  be  bolder  still. 
"  No.     It's  easy  enough. " 

Kay  was  ever  prompt  and  practical. 

"  I'll  be  Massasoit,"  said  she.* 

Ruth  had  no  invention  out  of  fairy-tales.  She 
looked  at  me  with  that  intent,  serious  expression 
she  had  when  she  was  trying  to  do  things  exactly 
right. 

"  What'll  I  be  ? "  she  asked  me,  and  her  little 
cool  hand  touched  mine. 

"  Why,"  said  I,  not  knowing  exactly  how  I  was 
going  to  end,  but  meaning  she  was  so  pretty  she 
ought  to  have  the  nicest  name  of  all,  "  you  be 
Minnehaha.     That's  Laughing  Water." 

Marcia  had  come  vigorously  to  her  feet.  Chiefs 
were  being  named  and  squaws  created  on  the  spot, 


The  Tribe  24 

and  she  was  nameless  yet.  She  was  the  supreme 
one  in  all  games,  and  it  must  have  seemed  to  her  if 
she  delayed  an  instant  more  her  captaincy  was  lost. 

"  I'm  Ponkapog,"  said  she. 

"Ponkapog  isn't  an  Indian,"  said  Kay,  with  no 
feeling  but  her  determination  to  get  at  facts.  "  It's 
a  place.       Gramma  went  there." 

"  It's  a  place,"  said  Marcia,  grandly,  "but  it's  an 
Indian  too."  (Here  I  wish  to  explain  that  the 
words  "an  Indian"  were  always  pronounced  in  the 
Tribe  as  if  spelled  "a-Ninjun".)  "He  named 
the  place,  and  I'm  him." 

Marcia  knew  nothing  about  it,  and  this  we,  in 
our  turn,  knew,  but  things  were  sweeping  on  too 
fast  to  be  stopped  for  trifles.  Ruth  was  twitching 
at  my  skirt. 

"  What's  your  name  ? "  she  said,  in  one  of  her 
nice  whispers.     "  You  get  one,  quick." 

I  think  she  had  an  idea  that  unless  I  grabbed  in 
haste,  all  the  names  would  be  gone.  I  had  made 
no  previous  preparation  of  Indian  lore,  but  I  seemed 
to  see  one  name  on  the  page  of  a  history  book,  a 
name  that  had  an  inviting  look'  with  its  round  0*s 
and  its  pretty  liquid  sound. 

"  Osceola,"  I  said,  at  once. 


26  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"All  right,"  said  Marcia,  "and  we're  all  chiefs." 

"  I  don't  s'pose  I'm  a  chief/'  said  Ruth.  She 
wrinkled  her  pretty  forehead.  "  It  doesn't  sound 
as  if  I  was." 

"No,"  said  I,  "you're  an  Indian  maiden. 
You've  got  to  be,  if  you're  Laughing  Water." 

Then  Ruth  surprised  me  by  one  of  the  lightning 
changes  that  turned  her  from  an  angel  child  to  a 
scamp. 

"  Well,  I  won't  be,  that's  all,"  said  she.  "  I'm  not 
going  to  be  a  maiden.     I'm  going  to  be  a  chief." 

"  Change  your  name  then,  goonie,"  said  Marcia. 
"There's  plenty  of  chief  names.  I  don't  blame 
you.  I  wouldn't  be  a  maiden,  either.  How'd  you 
go  on  the  trail  ? " 

"  I  won't  change  my  name,"  said  Ruth.  She 
was  red  as  a  poppy  now,  and  all  her  silken  childish- 
ness had  fled.  I  thought  she  was  about  to  cry. 
"  I'm  going  to  be  a  chief,  and  I'm  going  to  have 
my  name  Minnehaha,  too.     There!" 

Marcia  looked  at  Kay,  and  they  both  looked  at 
me.     I  seemed  to  be  adviser  to  the  Tribe. 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  I,  "  I  don't  see  why  she  can't. 
It  isn't  customary  "  —  I  had  heard  the  storekeeper 
say  that  once  when  Johnny  Wiggin  asked  for  crack- 


The  Tribe  27 

ers  and  cheese  because  he  had  seen  his  uncle  take 
them  —  "  but  it's  just  as  well." 

"  Oh,  all  right,"  said  Marcia.  "And  Gramma,ll 
be  Pocahontas." 

Then  was  I  suddenly  alarmed.  We  seemed  to 
be  attacking  the  dignity  of  my  dear  lady. 

"  Oh,  no,"  I  said,  "  she  can't  be.  We  couldn't 
do  that." 

"Why  couldn't  we?"  inquired  Marcia,  with  a 
threatening  eye. 

"  She  wouldn't  like  it,"  I  answered  weakly. 

"  Well,  who's  going  to  tell  her  ?  I  guess  you 
can  be  an  Indian  and  not  know  it.  And  we  can't 
have  anybody  in  the  wigwam  that  isn't  an  Indian, 
can  we  ?  unless  it's  a  captive.  Say,  we've  got  to 
have  a  captive." 

"Why,  Mary's  the  Captive,"  said  Kay,  who  was 
ever  following  on  Marcia's  heels.  "  She's  Cap'n 
John  Smith." 

"Yes,  and  we've  got  to  have  a  war-dance  round 
her,"  said  Marcia.     "That's  before  she's  scalped." 

We  took  hands  anyhow,  nobody  knowing  whom 
she  seized,  and  rattled  pellmell  down  the  stairs,  Pete 
biting  at  our  ankles,  yet  ever  in  the  van,  and  down 
the  next  flight  and  so  into  the  kitchen,  where  Mary 


28  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

was  making  lemon  jelly ;  and  Marcia  seized  her  by 
the  apron  and  drew  her  from  her  task,  and  so  to  the 
middle  of  the  room.  Then  we  danced  about  her, 
screaming  the  most  frightful  screams,  and  hacked  at 
her  with  imaginary  tomahawks  until  she,  by  force, 
made  her  way  out  and  so  back  to  her  task.  And 
when  we,  red  with  screaming,  our  faces  streaked 
by  tossing  hair,  fled  out  of  the  kitchen  to  renew  our 
dance  on  the  veranda  and  then  again  on  the  lawn 
under  Pocahontas's  very  window,  I  had  time  to 
reflect  that  this  seemed  to  be  a  house  where  even  so 
wild  a  game  caused  no  surprise  whatever.  And 
when  a  long-legged,  dark-haired  young  man  with 
what  I  considered  a  beautiful  mustache  turned  into 
the  yard  and  came  up  the  walk,  he  only  said :  — 

"  What  a  row  you  young  ones  make  !  Is  this 
Laura?" 

From  that  I  understood  he  must  be  Uncle 
Terry, 


CHAPTER   III 

THE    WIGWAM 

I  AT  once  began  to  admire  Uncle  Terry.  He 
had  a  sad  look  and  what  I  thought  a  haughty 
manner.  At  least  it  was  indifferent,  exactly 
like  that  of  the  heroes  of  stories  I  had  read  in  old 
magazines  piled  up  under  the  Sedgmoor  eaves. 
But  I  was  given  no  time  to  get  acquainted  with 
him  then :  for  the  cousins  pulled  me  along  past  the 
end  of  the  house,  across  the  kitchen  garden,  where 
the  pile  of  cornstalks  and  rubbish  was  ready  to 
be  burned,  and  through  a  little  gate.  Then  it 
looked  to  me  as  if  we  were  not  in  a  town  at  all, 
but  in  a  tract  of  woods,  and  I  was  glad.  Inland 
from  Aunt  Tabitha's  house  and  mine  was  open 
country  with  dotting  groves ;  but  whenever  we 
went  that  way,  I  was  always  turning  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  sea.  I  wanted  to  do  that  now. 
I  could  fancy  that  here  even,  so  many  miles  north 
as  I  had  journeyed,  if  I  came  out  from  the  woods 
and  looked   in   the  right  direction    I    should    find 

29 


3<D  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

the  line  of  blue.  I  felt  the  swelling  in  the  throat 
that  tells  us  something  like  home  is  not  so  far 
away.  I  was  having  a  beautiful  time,  but  I  was 
homesick. 

I  knew  about  this  wood.  The  Plantation,  it 
was  called.  The  town  had  been  growing  fast, 
Aunt  Tabitha  had  told  me,  when  we  began  to  talk 
about  my  coming.  It  was  the  capital,  I  knew,  and 
the  minister's  wife  had  said  it  would  be  thickly 
settled.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  it  the  Grandmother 
owned  several  acres  of  rolling  land  with  groves 
of  maple  in  it  and  darker  spots  of  pine.  Here  the 
cousins  were  allowed  to  tap  a  maple  and  hang  their 
sap-pails  and  hold  their  sugaring-off,  and  here  in 
summer,  they  told  me,  were  "  slews "  of  birds. 
(I  can't  pretend  that  the  cousins  talked  in  a  very 
correct  way  at  that  time.  When  they  were  in  the 
house  and  before  the  Grandmother,  they  did ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  outer  door  had  closed  upon  them, 
they  left  care  and  elegance  behind.)  I  loved  the 
wood  at  once.  The  great  tree  trunks  were  like 
masts  of  bigger  ships  than  any  I  had  seen,  and  the 
ground  under  them  was  soft  and  dark  with  leaf- 
mold,  and  there  were  beds  of  giant  brakes  and 
clumps  of  ferns  all  yellow   with   the  frost.      And 


The  Wigwam  3 1 

then  what  did  I  see  ?  In  the  midst,  a  little  house, 
its  front  door  just  showing  as  we  turned  the  corner 
of  the  leafy  path,  all  red  and  gold  now :  for  the 
sunshine  had  struck  through  the  maples  and  made 
them  splendid.  The  house  was  painted  red,  and 
the  door  was  white,  and  on  it  was  the  smallest 
knocker  I  ever  saw,  in  the  shape  of  a  fish,  his 
head  and  tail  curved  outward  and  his  bright 
finny  body  ready  to  bump  the  door.    * 

When  we  came  in  sight  of  the  house,  we  began 
to  run,  and  we  ran  harder  and  harder.  Kay  on  one 
side  of  me  and  Marcia  on  the  other  had  my  hands, 
and  Ruth  was  behind  me,  giving  a  little  push 
now  and  then.  They  seemed  to  be  tearing  along 
to  get  me  into  their  world  as  soon  as  possible. 
There  was  a  stone  before  the  door,  and  on  the 
stone  a  scraper,  just  like  a  truly  house,  and  from 
under  the  stone,  in  a  little  crevice,  Marcia  brought 
forth  the  key.  She  turned  it  in  the  lock,  and  all 
together  we  pushed,  not  because  there  was  need, 
for  the  door  opened  easily,  but  to  show  our  good 
will  to  get  in ;  and  there  we  were  in  the  dearest 
room  with  a  fireplace,  and  muslin  curtains  tied 
back  with  ribbons,  and  a  table  and  chairs  and 
books.     And    everything   was    small,    though    not 


32  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

too  small.  A  grown  person  could  have  sat  in  the 
chairs,  though  you  felt  at  once  they  were  children's 
chairs,  and  the  table  was  rather  low,  and  the  book 
shelves  along  the  wall  were  low.  I  cried  out  with 
delight  (I  seemed  to  have  learned  screaming  when 
we  were  dancing  our  war-dance  around  Cap'n 
John). 

"  Oh,"  said  I,  "  it's  a  fairy  house !  " 

"  It's  our  house.  It's  the  Playhouse,''  said 
Kay. 

She  went  to  the  closet  and  took  out  kindling, 
and  she  and  Ruth  piled  up  a  generous  fire.  But 
Marcia  stood  still  gazing  at  me,  and,  I  could  see, 
thinking.  When  I  walked  over  to  the  bookcase  to 
look  at  the  books,  she  followed  me. 

"  Do  you  suppose  it's  true  ? "  she  asked  me 
abruptly,  as  if  she'd  tried  to  get  the  question  out  so 
many  times  and  had  not  been  able  to,  that  it  hurt  her. 

"What?"  I  asked. 

"What  you  said.  Fairies."  She  bit  at  the 
word  roughly  as  if  she  despised  it,  but  I  could 
see  she  loved  it  really. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  I,  stupidly. 

"  Of  course  you  don't,"  said  she.  "  I  don't, 
either." 


The  Wigwam  33 

Then  we  went  back  to  the  others,  and  I  asked 
Kay  whose  house  it  really  was.  They  looked  at 
me  with  round  eyes,  all  wondering. 

"  Why,"  said  Kay,  and  Ruth  echoed  her,  "  we 
told  you.  It's  our  house.  It's  the  house  of  the 
Clan.  That's  what  Gramma  'n'  Uncle  Terry  call 
us,  —  the  Clan." 

*  Did  she  build  it  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,"  said  Kay,  "  not  exactly.  It  was  a  scnool- 
house  they  were  going  to  move  away  because  there 
weren't  any  scholars,  and  she  bought  it  and  made  it 
over  for  us." 

They  were  drawing  up  chairs  now,  rocking-chairs 
with  flowery  cushions,  and  we  sat  down  and  put  our 
feet  to  the  blaze.  Pete  dropped  on  the  rug  with  a 
"flump",  and  shut  his  eyes.  He  had  a  look  of 
going  to  sleep  just  as  hard  and  as  fast  as  he  could, 
not  knowing  how  soon  he  might  be  needed.  Marcia 
withdrew  one  foot  from  the  blaze  and  put  the  toe 
delicately  on  his  shoulder,  to  rub  him  as  she  talked. 
She  turned  to  Kay. 

"  Had  we  better  tell  her  ?  "  she  asked. 

It  was  Ruth  who  answered  :  — 

"  Yes  !  yes  !  yes  !  " 

Kay  was  regarding  me,  with  a  little  frown,  as  if  she 

D 


34  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

had  not  yet  quite  decided  upon  me.  When  she 
spoke,  it  was  not  very  warmly. 

"  We'll  have  to,  I  s'pose.  She's  going  to  be  in 
the  Tribe." 

"  It's  her  Tribe,"  said  Marcia.     "  She  got  it  up." 

"No,"  said  I,  with  a  feeling  that  here  was  a 
chance  to  show  myself  very  noble.  "  It's  no  more 
my  Tribe  than  anybody's." 

Marcia  had  been  thinking  while  she  scratched 
Pete's  shoulder.     Suddenly  she  spoke. 

"Well,  no  matter  whose  Tribe  it  is,  we're  all  in 
now,  and  it's  ours.  And  the  first  thing  is,  anyway, 
Tribe  or  no  Tribe,  you  can't  tell." 

"Tell  what?"  said  I. 

"  What  we  do  and  where  we  go  and  —  oh,  I 
don't  know  what  not  tell,  but  not  tell  anything." 

"  Not  to  her  ?  "  I  faltered. 

"Who?  Gramma?  Why,  no,  'course  you 
can't  tell  her." 

"  Why  can't  you  ? "  I  pursued.  I  had  a  feeling 
that  she  was  the  kindest  and  most  splendid  ever  — 
here  was  the  little  house  to  say  so  —  and  it  looked 
like  a  naughty  trick  to  tell  her  nothing. 

"  Why,  she's  grown-up,"  said  Marcia.  She  was 
staring  at  me  as  if  that  covered  everything  and  I 


The  Wigwam  35 

must  be  a  dull  owl  not  to  see  it.  "You  can't  tell 
things.     It's  no  fun." 

"  Sometimes  they  stop  your  doing  'em,"  Kay  said, 
gloomily. 

"  She  wouldn't,"  I  cried,  in  an  ecstacy  of  belief  in 
my  new  friend. 

"  Oh,  well,  you  don't  know,"  said  Kay.  "  He 
might,  anyway.  She'd  tell  him,  maybe,  and  he'd 
say  she  was  too  soft  and  wouldn't  she  let  him  take 
a  hand." 

"Who's  he?" 

"Why,  Uncle  Terry.  You  saw  him  when  we 
came  out." 

"  The  question  is,"  said  Marcia,  getting  back  to 
business,  "do  you  want  to  not  tell  and  be  in  it,  or 
do  you  want  to  tell  and  stay  at  home  with  Gramma 
when  we're  off  ?  " 

There  was  no  doubt  which  I  wanted.  The  fever 
for  being  an  old  lady  had  cooled.  I  wanted  nothing 
so  much  as  to  stay  in  this  young  world  of  adven- 
ture and  fun.  There  was  nobody  like  the  Grand- 
mother; I  knew  that  still.  But  I  put  her  aside, 
without  a  thought,  for  the  confidence  of  my  mates. 

"  I  want  to  be  in  it,"  I  said.     "  I  won't  tell." 

"Anything  ?  "  Kay  insisted,  and  I  returned :  — 


36  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  No,  I  won't  tell  anything." 

Marcia  began  talking  quite  freely  now,  as  if, 
things  being  understood,  it  was  easy  to  go  on. 

"You  see,  lots  of  things  happen  that  we  don't 
want  talked  over.  Another  thing,  everybody  thinks 
Gramma's  bringing  us  up  awfully,  so  the  less  folks 
know  about  what  we  do  the  better.  Then  they 
can't  blame  her." 

"Who  blames  her?"  I  asked  hotly.  "Uncle 
Terry  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes,  he  blames  her ;  but  she  wouldn't  care 
for  that.  They're  awfully  good  friends,  and  he 
thinks  she's  just  right.  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but 
he's  no  particular  relation  to  her.  But  she  wouldn't 
make  any  difference  for  that.  She'd  be  just  as  good 
to  a  tramp  along  the  road,  —  she'd  be  as  good  to 
you." 

She  had  been,  I  felt  humbly.  I  wondered  if  my 
vow  of  initiation  to  this  wonderful  clan  had  been 
well  taken. 

"  He  sets  her  on  though,"  said  Kay,  wisely. 
"  Uncle  Terry  does.  I  mean,  he  would  if  he 
could.  He  says  it's  no  way  to  bring  up  kids  not 
to  make  'em  come  to  meals.  But  she  never  does 
make  us.     'Long  as  we're  here  or  in  the  Plantation 


The  Wigwam  37 

somewhere,  she  says,  if  we're  late  once  in  a  while, 
Mary  can  give  us  dry  bread.  But  Mary  never 
does." 

"Not  Mary,"  Ruth  corrected  her.  "Cap'n 
John." 

"Well,  Cap'n  John.  Osceola,  don't  you  think 
we  ought  to  have  some  kind  of  a  ceremony  to  show 
we're  in  the  Tribe  ?  " 

"  We  could  prick  our  arms,"  I  said,  "  and  tattoo 
'em  with  blue  ink  or  soot.  There's  a  sailor  down 
at  Sedgmoor  that's  got  an  American  eagle  on  one 
arm  and  c  Mattie  '  —  a  girl's  name  —  on  the  other. 
And  he  didn't  marry  her,  after  all,  and  the  one  he 
did  marry  doesn't  like  it  and  he  has  to  keep  that 
shirt-sleeve  down,  even  wlien  he's  shucking  clams." 

"  I  don't  like  blue  ink,"  said  Kay.  "  I'd  rather 
have  red.     It's  more  like  blood." 

For  a  minute  we  forgot  whether  we  were  Indians 
or  pirates ;  but  Ruth  had  a  great  thought  then. 

"Currant  jelly's  nice,"  she  said.  "You  can 
melt  it  up  and  drink  it,  and  it's  just  exactly  the 
same  as  what  the  pirates  do  when  they  swear  they 
won't  tell  where  the  treasure  is  and  then  drink  — 
something."  Ruth  couldn't  say  the  horrid  word, 
but   she   looked  hopeful  at  the   thought  of  jelly. 


j  8  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Want  me  to  run  back  and  see  if  Mary'll  give  us  a 
tumbler  of  currant  ?  "  she  inquired.  "  We  could 
melt  it  over  the  fire." 

We  thought  it  would  be  an  excellent  idea,  and 
she  went  back  to  get  the  jelly.  While  she  was 
gone,  we  made  rules  for  the  Tribe.  They  all 
seemed  to  refer  to  not  "telling",  and  at  last  Marcia 
got  a  pencil  and  piece  of  paper  and,  without  stop- 
ping even  to  hunt  for  a  word,  wrote  down  a  Tribal 
yell.  She  had  heard  a  college  yell  once  when  she 
and  Grandma  had  gone  to  Hanover  for  a  visit,  and 
it  had  seemed  to  her  a  soul-stirring  thing.  And 
this  was  the  yell  of  the  Tribe  :  — 

Yell-o  !  yell-o  !  yell  ! 
We  won't  tell  ! 
Shut  us  in  a  cell  ! 
Drown  us  in  a  well  ! 
Remember  ruddy  jell  ! 
We  won't  tell  ! 
Yell-o  !  yell-o  !  yell  ! 

Ruth  came  back  running,  with  half  a  tumbler  of 
jelly  in  one  hand  and  a  small  pitcher  of  water  in  the 
other,  and  fell  in  at  the  doorway,  to  the  joy  of 
Pete.  We  pulled  him  off  and  rescued  the  pitcher 
before  more  than  half  the  water  had  been  spilled, 


The  Wigwam  39 

and  then  Kay  scraped  out  the  jelly  and  put  it  in  the 
pitcher  and  tried  all  means,  from  beating  to  squeez- 
ing, to  dissolve  it.  It  wouldn't  pay,  we  decided,  to 
heat  it.  There  was  nothing  to  heat  it  in,  and 
besides,  it  wouldn't  taste  so  good  warm.  And 
when  we  had  a  lumpy  red  liquid  of  the  kind  Mary 
would  have  called  a  "mess",  we  drank  it  solemnly, 
from  mugs  and  broken  cups,  each  repeating,  as  her 
turn  came :  — 

"  I  promise  not  to  tell  the  deeds  of  the  Tribe, 
joint  or  several." 

Kay  put  in  "joint  or  several".  She  said  it  meant 
"alone  or  together",  and  it  was  law,  and  if  you 
broke  your  word  after  you'd  said  a  thing  like  that, 
you  could  be  arrested  and  put  into  jail.  And  after 
we  had  drained  the  last  drop  of  our  Tribal  drink 
we  drew  long  breaths  and  looked  at  one  another, 
each  thinking,  —  "How  splendid  that  was!  what 
shall  we  do  next  ?  "     Marcia  had  the  first  idea. 

"  Ruth,"  said  she,  "  you  willing  we  should  tell 
Osceola  about  —  you  know?  What  nobody  knows 
but  us  three  ?  " 

"  If  you  don't  want  us  to,"  said  Kay,  stoutly, 
"  you  say  so,  and  we  won't." 

Ruth  sat  staring  into  the  fire,  now  and  then  mov- 


4<D  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

ing  a  stick  with  a  serious  care,  the  red  of  it  deepen- 
ing in  her  cheeks. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  at  once.  "You  can  tell.  I'd 
just  as  soon." 

But  how  were  they  to  tell  ?  They  seemed  not 
to  know.  Marcia  waited  until  I  wondered  whether 
she  would  get  to  it  at  all,  and  then  burst  out :  — 

"  Ruth's  afraid." 

Ruth  nodded  cheerfully. 

"  What's  she  afraid  of? "  I  inquired. 

"'Most  everything,"  said  Marcia.  "Cows  and 
caterpillars  and  the  minister  and  choking  her  with  a 
fishbone,  and  being  out  in  the  dark  —  " 

"  Oh ! "  I  cried,  with  a  quick  sense  that  here  was 
somebody  no  braver  than  I.  "  I'm  afraid  of  the 
dark,  too.     Ruth,  I'm  glad  you  are." 

Kay  turned  upon  me  one  of  her  direct  and  sudden 
looks.  "  For  mercy's  sake,"  it  seemed  to  say,  "  is 
there  another  one  ?  What  we  shall  do  with  two  of 
you,  I  don't  know."  Marcia,  also,  was  looking  at 
me,  but  not  quite  in  the  same  way.  Her  face,  very 
serious  and  thoughtful,  and  finer  than  I  had  seen  it, 
seemed  to  remind  me  that  there  were  things  you 
really  couldn't  do.  Being  afraid  was  one.  Almost 
this  same  thing  she  said. 


The  Wigwam  41 

"Well,  you  can't  be,"  she  announced,  as  if 
puzzled  that  anybody  could  yield  to  such  a  thing. 
"  She  sees  that.     Ruth  sees  it.     Don't  you,  Ruth  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Ruth.     "'Course  I  do." 

"  So,"  said  Marcia,  bluffly,  as  if  she  were  keeping 
up  somebody's  courage  as  well  as  her  own,  "  Ruth's 
going  to  get  over  it." 

"  How  you  going  to  ? "  I  asked,  not  very  hope- 
fully.    "  Maybe  I  could,  too." 

"  We've  talked  about  it  a  lot,"  said  Kay,  "  and 
we  think  the  only  way  is  to  do  all  the  things  you're 
afraid  of  doing,  and  then  you'll  stop  being  afraid." 

I  saw  suddenly,  in  a  frightful  vision,  the  proces- 
sion of  the  things  I  was  afraid  of;  it  was  a  longer 
list  than  Ruth's.  It  seemed  to  stretch  off  like  a 
comet's  endless  tail  and  leave  me,  the  poor  little  body 
of  it,  staring  after. 

"  Ruth  has  made  out  a  list,"  said  Kay,  in  her 
most  offhand  manner.  She  rose  and  went  to  a 
table  drawer,  and  came  back  with  the  list  in 
her  hand.  "  It's  alphabetical.  We  thought 
that  would  be  easier.  It's  Alligators  —  she  can't 
do  anything  about  that,  because  there  aren't  any, 
unless  maybe  she  should  go  to  Florida  to  spend 
the    winter;     and    Bees  —  she's    got    stung    once 


42  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

or  twice  a-purpose  to  show  her  it  won't  kill  her; 
and  Cows  —  we  cross  all  the  pastures  we  can,  and  if 
one  of  'em  hooks  her,  we  aren't  going  to  interfere  ; 
and  Dark  —  " 

"  That's  the  worst, "  said  Ruth,  with  a  sigh. 
"  Maybe  I  never'll  get  over  that,  it  comes  so 
often  —  " 

"Yes,  you  will,"  said  Marcia,  in  a  bluff  en- 
couragement.    "  'Course  you  will.     You've  got  to." 

"  So  that's  what  we're  working  on  now,"  said 
Kay.  She  folded  up  the  paper  as  an  architect  might 
lay  aside  his  plans  for  the  day.  "  But  we've  got  to 
begin  on  it  straight  off,  when  there's  no  moon." 

"  What  you  going  to  do  ? "  I  asked.  I  said  it 
with  a  sinking  heart,  because  I  knew,  if  I  was  to 
hold  a  place  in  this  heroic  band,  I,  too,  must  enter 
the  gallant  lists. 

"  I'm  coming  over  here  alone  to  stay  all  night," 
said  Ruth.  Her  soft  voice  showed  no  sign  of 
dread  or  trouble.  It  was  evidently  fixed  in  her 
mind  that  this  was  the  thing  she  had  to  do,  and  she 
need  make  no  words  about  it.  "  I'm  going  to  climb 
in  at  the  window,  so's  to  leave  the  key  outside. 
My  nightie's  all  ready  in  that  drawer.  I'm  going 
to  sleep  on  the  couch.     Then  when  I've  done  that, 


The  Wigwam  43 

I'm  going  to  stay  in  the  old  potato  cellar,  and 
when  I've  done  that,  I'm  going  to  stay  in  the 
woods." 

"  Oh,  my  !  "  this  was  all  I  could  say.  I  doubted 
if  these  three,  my  superiors,  would  have  said  "  oh, 
my!"  but  it  expressed  my  disturbance  and  wonder 
more  nearly  than  any  other  words.  "  You  afraid  of 
tramps  ?  "  I  asked. 

She  considered  a  moment,  as  if  looking  along  her 
list  in  search  of  T,  and  then  shook  her  head. 

"  No,"  said  she,  "  they're  just  men.  They're 
dirty,  though." 

"  Now  you  see,"  said  Kay,  "  why  Gramma  can't 
know.  She'd  put  a  stop  to  it.  She  wouldn't 
think  'twas  so  very  terrible  to  be  afraid  anyway. 
I'll  bet  she's  afraid  of  lots  of  things  herself." 

"  Do  you  ?  "  I  asked,  hopefully.  I  fancied  for  a 
moment  I  might  find  some  cover  for  my  weak- 
nesses. 

"When  the  horse  ran  away,"  said  Marcia,  "she 
was  white  as  a  sheet.  But  you  weren't,  Ruth,  were 
you  ?  You  just  sat  there  and  bounced  up  and  down 
while  the  wagon  jolted  ;  and  when  they  stopped  him, 
you  said,  ■  Gramma,  your  comb's  coming  out/ 
That's  all  you  said." 


44  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Ruth  nodded,  and  kept  on  looking  at  the  blaze, 
as  if  she  were  glad  it  had  been  no  worse,  and  in  a 
minute  she  and  Kay  went  over  to  the  couch  and 
began  to  lay  the  pillows  straight,  and  I  knew  they 
were  making  her  bed.  But  Marcia  turned  to  me. 
She  spoke  in  rather  a  low  tone,  as  if  she  were  half 
willing  they  should  not  hear,  and  again  perhaps  half 
ashamed  of  what  she  had  to  say. 

"There  couldn't  be  any  such  thing  as — "  she 
said,  yet  she  said  it  like  a  question,  too. 

"What?" 

"Fairies?  Or  brownies?  Or  little  things  any- 
way so  small  you  couldn't  see  'em  ? " 

"There  was  a  man,"  said  I,  "that  was  crossing  a 
bog.  It  was  in  Ireland.  And  he  saw  a  little  man, 
a  little,  little  man,  sitting  on  a  tussock  of  grass,  and 
cobbling  shoes.  And  he  crept  up  behind  him  and 
caught  him  between  his  thumb  and  finger,  and  the 
little  man  says,  'What'll  you  take  to  let  me  go?' 
'A  pot  of  gold,'  says  the  man,  and  the  little  man 
says,  cDig  underneath  this  tussock,  and  you'll  find 
the  pot  of  gold.'  So  the  man  says, c  I  must  run  home 
and  get  my  spade,'  and  he  let  the  fairy  go.  But  be- 
fore he  went,  he  remembered  that  tussock  was  just 
exactly  like  the  other    tussocks,    and    he  wouldn't 


The  Wigwam  45 

know  where  to  dig.  So  he  took  off  his  garter,  and 
tied  it  round  the  tussock,  and  the  next  morning  he 
came  back  with  his  spade,  and  there  was  a  blue  gar- 
ter tied  round  every  tussock  in  the  bog."  I 
stopped,  out  of  breath  but  full  of  triumph.  I 
thought  I  had  proved  something. 

Marcia  turned  upon  me  with  the  greatest  eager- 
ness. 

"Who  told  you  that?"  she  asked.  "Who  told 
you?" 

"  I  got  it  out  of  a  book." 

"Yes,  that's  it."  She  sounded  bitter.  "And  if 
you  asked  folks,  they'd  just  laugh.  They  won't 
tell.  And  I'm  too  old  to  ask.  They  know  you're 
'most  fourteen  and  they  laugh." 

"But  I  keep  thinking  they're  round,"  said  I, 
"'specially  after  I've  finished  a  fairy  book.  Seems 
as  if  it  must  be,  then." 

Marcia  had  been  staring  at  the  fire.  Now  she 
turned  to  me  in  an  eager  warmth. 

"Would  you  do  it  if  I  would?"  she  inquired. 
"Should  you  darst?" 

I  began  to  learn  then  that  the  verb  "to  dare" 
had  this  form  of  "darst",  which  was  applied  to 
glowing  adventure. 


46  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"What?"  I  asked. 

"  Darst  to  go  across  a  bog  and  see  if  we  see  any 
little  men,  and  if  we  did,  tie  a  garter  round  the 
place?     Once  I  knit  a  garter.     I  could  find  it." 

I  faltered,  but  I  tried  to  look  unmoved.  I  was 
winning  my  spurs  in  this  goodly  company.  I  bade 
myself  remember  that. 

"Where'd  we  find  a  bog?"  I  ventured.  "That 
was  in  Ireland,  you  know.  They  have  bogs 
there." 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Marcia.  She  set  her  lips. 
"I  know  where  there's  a  cranberry  bog,  down 
through  the  brook  path.  Darst  you  come  to-night 
and  try  it?" 

"It's  dark,"  I  objected.  "There  isn't  any 
moon." 

"All  the  better.  They'd  be  more  likely  to  think 
nobody'd  see  'em." 

"But  we  couldn't  see  'em  if  we  tried.  'Twould 
take  full  moon." 

She  seemed  to  feel  the  force  of  that. 

"  Well,"  she  owned,  "  I  s'pose  that's  so.  But 
next  minute  there's  a  moon,  darst  you  try  it  ?  " 

I  had  put  it  off,  at  least.  For  that  my  cowardly 
heart  was  glad.     But  I  opened    my  lips    and  said 


The  Wigwam  47 

boldly,  as  if  it  were  the  vow  that  gained  me  ad- 
mission into  this  great  clan  :  — 

"  I  darst."  With  the  guile  of  the  cowardly  I  did 
hope  to  switch  her  off  on  another  tack.  "  We 
could  see  if  there  were  brownies,"  I  ventured. 
"  We  could  set  a  saucer  of  milk  down  by  the  hearth, 
and  leave  the  hearth  not  swept ;  and  then,  in  the 
morning,  if  the  milk  was  gone  and  the  hearth  swept 
up  to  pay  for  it,  we'd  know  they'd  been  there. 
That's  the  way  they  say  they  do." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marcia.     "  We  could  do  that." 

Now  Ruth  and  Kay  turned  to  us,  in  the  heat 
of  a  discussion. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  this  ?  "  said  Kay.  "  Ruth 
says  she  believes  we'd  better  not  know  the  night 
she's  going  to  do  it,  because  if  we  do,  maybe  we'd 
be  thinking  about  her,  and  if  she  hollered,  we'd  be 
more  likely  to  hear  her,  and  it  wouldn't  be  so  much 
of  a  darst." 

"Well,  she  can't  holler,  anyway,"  said  Marcia. 
"  No  matter  what  happens  to  her,  she  can't  holler." 

"  No,"  said  Ruth,  in  her  gentle  tone,  a  little 
troubled,  "  I  know  I  can't.  But  I  might.  S'pose 
there  was  an  alligator  and  bees  and  cows  and  there'd 
be  the  dark  anyway  —  and  all  the  whole  list,  and  they 


48  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

all  come  at  me  at  once.  Maybe  I'd  holler  and  I 
couldn't  help  it.     I  might  be  dreaming/' 

"  They  wouldn't,"  said  Kay,  "  because  they 
couldn't." 

"  But  maybe  I'd  think  of  'em  all  at  once,"  said 
Ruth,  patiently.     "  And  maybe  then  I'd  holler." 

"  I  can  see  some  sense  in  that,"  said  Marcia,  ad- 
dressing herself  to  Kay.  "  I  don't  believe  we'd 
better  know  what  night  she's  going,  and  when  she's 
done  it,  she  can  tell  us  in  the  morning." 

We  sat  there  and  talked  a  long  time,  about  fairy 
books,  and  Pete,  and  whether  he  could  learn  to  say 
one  word  that  wasn't  "Woof!"  if  we  did  nothing 
for  a  month  but  repeat  it  to  him.  A  good  deal 
was  settled  that  day.  One  thing  was  that  we  wouldn't 
use  the  Tribal  names  except  in  solemn  meetings 
at  the  Campfire  when  we  expected  to  pass  round 
the  Pipe  of  Peace,  filled  with  catnip  or  sweet  tern. 
Kay  said  if  we  got  in  the  habit  of  calling  out 
"  Osceola  "  and  "  Ponkapog  "  the  grown-ups  would 
hear  and  perhaps  tell  the  new  governess,  and  then  it 
would  be  all  "up".  Also,  the  Playhouse  was  hence- 
forth to  be  known  as  the  Wigwam,  this  when  we 
were  alone. 

When  we  went  home  to  dinner,  I  was  very  still, 


The  Wigwam  49 

because  I  had  begun  to  wonder.  Ruth  came  up 
beside  me  in  the  path  and  touched  my  hand  gently 
in  that  way  she  had,  like  a  dogs  cold  reminding 
nose. 

"  What  you  thinking  ? "  she  asked,  and  I  an- 
swered, more  to  Marcia  than  to  her,  because  I  had 
chosen  Marcia  for  my  friend:  — 

"If  we  want  to  know  whether  there's  fairies  or 
not,  I  don't  see  why  we  don't  ask  her  or  Uncle 
Terry." 

Marcia  and  Kay  gave  a  little  hoot  of  scorn. 

"  They  wouldn't  tell  us,"  said  Marcia.  "  May- 
be they  don't  know.  I  guess  when  you  grow  up 
you  stop  knowing,  anyway." 

Nevertheless  that  night  after  supper,  when  the 
Grandmother  was  in  the  library  with  a  caller  — 
old  Mrs.  Patten  come  to  sell  yarn  she  dyed  herself 
—  and  Marcia  and  Kay  were  playing  backgammon, 
and  Ruth  was  reading  "Little  Women",  and  Uncle 
Terry  was  rattling  the  newspaper  and  frowning  over 
it,  I  walked  up  to  him  and  said,  in  a  low  voice :  — 

"  Do  you  think  there's  any  fairies,  sir  ?  " 

The  effect  was  even  more  exciting  than  I  had 
hoped.  Instantly  he  threw  down  the  paper  in  a 
crumpled  mountain  on  the  floor,  and  looked  me  in 


5<D  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

the  eyes.      His  own  eyes  were  truly  beautiful,  and 
I  think  he  made  them  big  on  purpose. 

"  Upon  my  word  !  "  said  he.  "  You  just  get 
your  hat  and  coat  and  come  with  me.  Marcia, 
you  want  to  come,  too  ?  Come  along,  all  of  you. 
We're  going  on  a  fairy  hunt." 


CHAPTER   IV 

UNCLE    TERRY 

WE  didn't  speak  one  word,  but  got  our 
hats  and  coats  as  fast  as  we  could.  He 
was  waiting  for  us  by  the  front  door, 
but  he  had  no  hat  on,  and  his  black  hair  was  tossed 
over  his  forehead  and  his  dark  eyes  gleamed  —  I 
think  he  made  them  gleam,  somehow  —  and  I 
thought  he  looked  like  an  enchanter  himself.  The 
shivers  ran  up  my  back  and  down  to  my  toes. 
He  opened  the  door,  and  we  went  out  after  him 
silently,  because  we  knew  stillness  was  a  part  of  the 
game.  It  was  a  dark  night,  yet  soft,  with  a  fall 
feeling  in  the  air,  and  the  stars  were  bright.  I  had 
not  been  out  into  the  street  at  all  since  I  came  from 
the  station,  and  when  Uncle  Terry  turned  a  corner 
sharply,  the  way  was  new  to  me.  There  were 
big  houses,  some  of  them  with  white-pillared 
porches,  on  the  right,  and  on  the  left  it  was  all 
darkness  and  no  houses  at  all :    only  a  sound  of 

5* 


52  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

running  water.  This  was  the  River,  and  though 
it  was  low  enough  now  to  make  a  plashing  over 
its  stones,  in  the  spring  it  roared  and  swelled,  and 
even  engulfed  the  road  and  came  up  to  the  proud 
porticos,  when  the  ice  "  went  out ".  I  began  to 
notice  the  scent  of  the  lowland,  too,  and  the  bitter 
smell  of  the  leaves  after  the  first  frosts.  We 
walked  fast,  Uncle  Terry  ahead  and  Marcia  and 
I  together,  and  the  other  two  behind.  Nobody 
spoke.  I  felt  as  if  it  were  understood  that  nobody 
was  to  speak.  And  when  we  had  passed  a  dozen 
or  so  of  the  great  houses,  Uncle  Terry  turned  to 
the  right  again  into  a  little  path  and  over  a  bridge ; 
and  here  Marcia  put  her  arm  through  mine,  for  she 
knew  I  was  strange  to  the  place  and  must  be  led. 
We  went  up  a  hill  and  down  into  a  hollow,  and 
came  out  on  a  lonely  road ;  and  there  I  heard  the 
sound  of  water,  as  if  it  were  running  downhill 
fast.  There  was  a  big  black  building  at  the  side 
of  the  road,  and  Uncle  Terry  stopped.  "  Halt !  " 
said  he,  and  we  halted.  He  seemed  to  be  looking 
about  him,  and  in  a  moment  he  said,  "  Here  they 
are,"  and  pointed  out  a  half  circle  of  big  stones. 
"  Sit  down,"  said  he.  "  There's  a  chair  for  each, 
and  one  over." 


Uncle  Terry  rj 

We  sat  down  each  on  a  stone,  and  I  found  I  was 
shivering,  from  excitement,  not  from  cold.  Uncle 
Terry  began  to  speak  in  the  most  commonplace 
way,  just  as  if  he  had  taken  us  botanizing  perhaps, 
and  was  describing  the  plants. 

"I  don't  know  who'll  be  out  to-night.  The 
Moon  won't.  I  had  a  special  message  from  her, 
to  say  she  really  couldn't  be  present." 

"  Did  she  send  it  to  you? "  Ruth  asked,  gravely. 
"Who  brought  it,  Uncle  Terry?  " 

"It  was  the  Almanac,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "He 
was  just  stumping  through  the  dining  room,  hands 
in  his  pockets,  and  when  he  saw  me,  he  said :  c  Oh, 
that  you?  I've  got  a  message  for  you.  No  Moon 
to-night.  Called  away.  Business.  Most  impor- 
tant.' So  we  can't  see  what  we  might  have  seen 
otherwise ;  but  we'll  do  the  best  we  can.  We'll 
listen  anyhow.     Marcia,  what  do  you  hear?  " 

Marcia  shivered  a  little.  She  was  not  afraid  of 
the  dark,  but  the  dark  was  so  wonderful  to  her  that 
she  hardly  knew  what  there  might  be  in  it. 

"  I  hear  the  leaves,"  she  said,  "  and  the  water." 

"Exactly,"  returned  Uncle  Terry.  "And  we 
don't  any  more  know  what  they're  saying  than  if 
they    were    Russians    from    Saghalien.      Do    you 


54  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

suppose  you  could  try  to  understand,  if  you  tried 
as  hard  as  you  could  and  ten  times  over  ? " 

I  listened,  and  the  sound  of  the  leaves  and  the 
sound  of  the  water  seemed  to  make  a  music,  as  if 
they  were  intended  to  sing  together,  and  I  wanted 
to  cry :  for  what  it  made  me  think  of  was  very 
sad. 

"What  is  it,  Laura  ?"  said  Uncle  Terry,  in  a 
minute.     "  What  does  it  make  you  think  of  ?  " 

"Aunt  Tabitha's  singing,"  I  said,  "and  how 
she's  on  the  water  in  a  ship,  and  how  our  little 
house  down  at  Sedgmoor  is  all  dark  and  the  door's 
locked." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "that's  the  kind  of  thing  it 
makes  me  think  of.  And  it's  the  ones  that  live  in 
the  trees  that  make  the  sound,  playing  on  the 
leaves ;  and  it's  the  ones  that  live  in  the  water  that 
make  the  sound,  running  over  the  stones." 

"  Fairies  !  "  said  Marcia,  in  a  whisper.  "  Do  you 
mean  fairies  ? " 

"We'd  better  not  speak  of  them  by  name,"  said 
he.  Uncle  Terry  had  a  way,  when  he  was  telling 
us  these  things,  of  acting  as  if  it  were  a  great  secret 
told  to  each  one  separately.  "  If  we  call  them  by 
their  names,   they're  more  likely  not  to    be  here. 


Uncle  Terry  5$ 

They  prefer  to  be  called  just  River,  or  Water,  or 
Tree.  Nothing  else.  Then  they  go  on  as  if  they 
weren't  more  than  half  sure  you'd  spoken." 

"  If  we  called  them  by  their  right  names,  would 
the  River  stop?"  Ruth  asked.  "Would  the 
leaves  stop  moving,  Uncle  Terry  ? " 

"  We  don't  more  than  half  know  what  their  real 
names  are,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "  Only,  if  we  did 
know,  we  mustn't  use  'em.  You  take  my  word  for 
that." 

"But  what's  in  the  River?"  said  Kay.  "Besides 
water  and  fish  ? "  She  always  had  to  be  exact. 
"  F'rinstance,  Uncle  Terry  ?  " 

"  That's  it,"  said  Uncle  Terry,  solemnly,  as  if  he 
could  tell  a  thing  or  two  if  he  would.  "  What  is  in 
it?" 

"Would  they  be  doing  just  the  same  if  we 
weren't  here  ? "  asked  Marcia :  "  if  they  were  per- 
fectly sure  there  was  nobody  within  a  million  billion 
miles  ? " 

"That's  the  question,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "But 
now  I'll  tell  you  something  I  really  know.  One 
afternoon,  I  walked  by  here,  and  the  fireweed  was 
all  ablaze,  it  was  so  pink,  and  the  goldenrod  had 
just    begun  to    be   as    yellow  as   could    be,  and   I 


56  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

thought  it  was  great  —  nicest  place  I  ever  saw. 
And  that  night,  when  I  was  in  my  bed,  I  thought 
I'd  go  and  find  it  again  and  see  if  it  was  just  as 
nice.  And  so  I  did,  and  the  fireweed  was  a  million 
Alives  all  pink  —  " 

"  What's  Alives  ? "  Ruth  asked,  in  a  quick 
whisper. 

"Why,  it's  They,"  said  Marcia,  excitedly,  "the 
ones  we  mustn't  mention." 

"And  the  goldenrod  was  a  million  Alives,  all 
yellow,  and  there  were  billions  of  light  brown  and 
green  Alives  in  the  river,  except  in  some  places 
where  they  were  silver  —  well,  my  stars!  I  never 
saw  such  a  sight." 

"  Did  they  see  you  ? "  said  Kay,  in  high  excite- 
ment.    "  Did  they  stop  ?  " 

"  See  me  ?  Bless  you,  how  could  they  when  I 
was  at  home  in  my  bed  ? " 

"  But  you  said  you  saw  'em,"  cried  Ruth,  in  a 
kind  of  anguish.  She  seemed  to  be  afraid  of  being 
told  these  things  were  jokes. 

"  Why,  so  I  did.  Can't  you  see  things  when 
you're  in  your  bed  ?  You  try  it  to-night.  I'll  tell 
you  another  time  I  saw  'em." 

"  The  Alives  ? "  I  ventured.  • 


Uncle  Terry  pj 

"Yes.  It  was  about  three  weeks  ago,  when  the 
leaves  had  just  begun  to  turn.  It  was  a  very  still 
day.  Very  warm.  If  you  tried  to  look  off,  you 
couldn't  see  far  because  you  had  to  go  through  a 
lot  of  blue  mist.  Well,  they  were  everywhere. 
My  stars  !  they  were  full  of  it.  They  just  couldn't 
keep  out  of  sight,  there  were  so  many  of  them  and 
they  were  so  high.  High  as  ninety !  Anybody 
could  have  seen  'em  that  day,  even  folks  that  didn't 
want  to." 

"  I  remember  that  day,"  said  Marcia.  "  Pete 
and  I  went  on  a  walk,  and  he  chased  hens.  Guinea 
hens.  When  I  got  home,  you  and  Gramma  were 
talking  on  the  front  steps,  and  she  said,  c  It's  been 
a  heavenly  day.'" 

"  Do  you  suppose  she  saw  'em  ?  "  Ruth  asked,  in 
her  earnest  little  undertone.  "If  she  saw  'em, 
she'd  tell  us  first  thing." 

"'Course  she  saw  'em,"  said  Uncle  Terry. 
"And  she  wouldn't  any  more  tell  you  —  why,  it's 
mean  to  tell,  and  Gramma's  a  lady.  Do  you  s'pose 
she  would  ?  If  you  should  ask  her,  she'd  have  to 
pretend  she  didn't  know.  That's  the  rule  when 
you're  a  Perfect  Lady  and  anybody  asks  you  about 
the  Alives." 


58  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

I  straightened  my  little  body,  and  I  believe  the 
others  did  the  same  with  theirs.  We  were  resolv- 
ing to  be  perfect  ladies  and  keep  the  rules  of  the 
game.     Ruth  ventured  a  question. 

"  Uncle  Terry,  if  they're  here,  if  they're  every- 
where, do  you  s'pose  one  of  them  is  —  do  you 
s'pose  you'd  know  it  if  'twas  —  the  Fairy  Queen?" 

We  all,  and  I  am  sure  Ruth,  after  she  had  said  it, 
felt  that  this  was  going  too  far.  It  was  a  minute 
before  Uncle  Terry  answered,  and  then  he  said,  in  a 
whisper,  very  serious  indeed  :  — 

"I  don't  believe  I'd  speak  of  the  very  splendid 
and  beautiful  and  wonderful  and  radiant  personage 
you  just  took  the  liberty  of  mentioning.  It  might 
make  a  great  difference,  you  know." 

"Would  everything  stop?"  Kay  inquired,  in  a 
whisper.  "  Would  the  water  stop  running  and  the 
stars  — "  but  that  was  so  dreadful  that  she  really 
couldn't  go  on. 

"  Be  apt  to,"  said  Uncle  Terry,  cheerfully. 
"  Now  let's  go  home." 

We  went,  unwillingly.  He  had  made  us  in  love 
with  the  dark.  But  just  as  we  were  passing  the 
last  of  the  big  houses  on  our  way  to  Grandma's 
house,  Kay  put  a  question. 


Uncle  Terry  59 

u  Uncle  Terry,  that  was  down  by  the  old  saw- 
mill, wasn't  it?" 

"  What  ?  "  said  Uncle  Terry. 

"  Where  we've  just  been/' 

"  Well,  yes,"  said  Uncle  Terry,  carelessly, 
"maybe  they  call  it  so  by  day.  Yes,  I  believe 
they  do  call  it  so  after  sunrise." 

"  But  don't  they  call  it  so  at  night,  Uncle 
Terry?"  asked  Marcia,  in  one  of  her  hurried  bursts 
of  determination  to  be  told. 

"  I'm  of  the  impression  they  don't,"  said  Uncle 
Terry. 

He  began  to  whistle  a  beautiful  air  from  an  opera. 
It  told  Grandma  he  was  coming. 

"  What  do  they  call  it  ?  "  said  Kay. 

"Ah,  that's  the  question,"  said  he.  "Find  out 
if  you  can.     It's  more  than  I  can." 

"  It's  different  at  night,"  said  I,  stumbling  along 
at  the  heels  of  his  thoughts,  because  I  had  learned 
that  they  went  somewhere  very  nice  indeed. 

"  Very  different,"  said  he. 

"  But  nicer  !  " 

"  Oh,  much  nicer  !  " 

And  then  we  were  at  home. 

Grandma  met  us  in  the  hall,  prettier  and  prettier, 


60  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

I  thought,  with  every  dress  she  put  on ;  and  now 
she  was  in  light  gray  with  such  lovely  lace  and  such 
a  long  silver  chain. 

"Where  have  you  children  been?"  said  she,  but 
without  waiting  for  an  answer  or  seeming  to  expect 
one.  I  had  found  out  that  this  was  one  of  her 
charms.  She  left  everybody  very  free,  and  only 
hoped  they'd  feel  like  telling  her  things  because 
they  liked  her :  not  else.  "  Marcia,  you've  a  letter 
from  your  other  Grandma.  Mary  went  to  the 
office  and  found  it." 

Marcia  took  it  rather  ungraciously,  I  thought,  as 
if  it  were  a  letter  she  could  afford  to  do  without. 
Kay  came  up  at  that  minute.  She  had  been  hang- 
ing up  her  hat  and  coat. 

"  Who's  it  from  ? "  she  asked,  and  Marcia  an- 
swered something  that  sounded  like  "  Crandma". 

"  You've  such  a  peculiar  way  of  saying  that  word, 
dear,"  said  the  Grandmother.  "  I  never  notice  it 
when  you  speak  to  me ;  but  when  you  speak  of 
your  other  Grandma  you  seem  to  say  c Crandma'. 
What  makes  you,  dear  ?  " 

We  had  all  gone  into  the  sitting  room  now,  and 
Uncle  Terry  had  taken  his  book.  But  he  stood  up 
till  the  Grandmother  was  seated.     He  was  always 


Uncle  Terry  6l 

very  polite  to  her.  Marcia  didn't  answer  that  ques- 
tion. She  just  took  the  Grandmother  round  the 
waist,  and  Kay  began  to  whistle  a  waltz  I'd  heard 
Aunt  Tabitha  play,  and  Marcia  and  the  Grand- 
mother waltzed  around  the  sitting  room  with  per- 
fect seriousness,  as  if  they  were  at  a  party.  I  did 
love  the  Grandmother  so  then.  For  she  didn't  say, 
"  Go  away,  dear,"  or  "  Don't  act  so,"  as  old  ladies 
do  when  you  get  just  wild  to  treat  them  as  if  they 
were  young.  She  acted  as  if  Marcia  had  done  her  a 
great  honor  by  asking  her  to  dance,  and  as  if  it  were 
a  thing  you  might  do  any  time.  Marcia  led  her  to 
a  chair  and  made  her  a  low  bow,  and  Grandma 
courtesied  and  sat  down.     She  wasn't  out  of  breath. 

"Brava!"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "  Brava,  Queen 
o'  the  May  !     I'd  like  to  see  you  in  a  minuet." 

u  What's  a  minuet?"  asked  Kay,  and  then  she 
remembered  and  began  whistling  one,  a  lovely  one 
she  had  learned  to  play. 

And  Uncle  Terry  put  down  his  book  and  bowed 
to  the  Grandmother  in  a  courtly  manner,  and  she 
got  up  and  courtesied,  and  they  began  to  walk 
about  and  bow  to  imaginary  partners,  and  bow  and 
courtesy  to  the  music,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  were  in 
very  great  company  indeed.     And  when  they  had 


62  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

sat  down  again  and  had  begun  to  look  over  some 
letters  together,  and  wonder  whether  the  writers 
spoke  French,  and  why  they  didn't  say  more  about 
themselves,  Marcia  touched  my  hand  and  I  fol- 
lowed her  across  the  hall  into  the  dining  room, 
where  there  was  a  light  and  a  gay  fire  burning.  I 
learned  later  that  this  was  to  be  the  signal  of  the 
Tribe.  If  one  wanted  to  speak  to  another,  she  just 
came  along  and  gave  her  hand  a  little  touch,  and 
this  was  called  "dog's-nosing".  Sometimes  Marcia 
would  say  to  Kay  :  — 

"  Where's  Ruth  ?  You  go  in  and  dog's-nose 
her  and  I'll  wait  here." 

But  now  what  she  wanted  to  say  was  this  :  — 

"  I  know  what  those  letters  are.  They're  about 
the  new  governess." 

"  Oh  !  "  I  wondered  she  was  not  showing  more 
interest.     It  seemed  so  important  to  us. 

"  It  won't  make  any  difference  who  it  is,"  said  she. 
"  If  we  don't  like  her,  we  needn't  keep  her,  that's  all." 

"  What  could  you  do  ?  "  I  asked. 

aOh,  lots  of  things.  We  kept  Miss  Miles 
forever  because  she  didn't  make  us  study.  But 
that  wasn't  what  I  wanted  to  tell  you.  You  know 
Grandma  pitched  into  me  for  saying  c  Crandma '." 


Uncle  Terry  63 

"  Yes.  What  makes  you  ?  If  you  do  it  when 
you  don't  know,  I  should  think  you'd  say  it  to  her 
sometimes. " 

She  looked  at  me  in  perfect  wonder. 

"Say  it  to  her?  Why,  I'd  rather  die  and  be 
buried  than  say  it  to  her.  Don't  you  know  what 
it  means  ? " 

I  didn't  know.  How  should  I  when,  so  far,  it 
was  a  secret  of  the  three  ? 

"Why,  Grandma  Livingston's  cross  as  two 
sticks.  Sharp  as  a  meat-axe  with  us,  she  is.  I 
heard  Mary  say  so.  She's  rich,  and  she's  got  a 
big  house,  and  once  a  year  she  has  us  visit  her. 
But  she  won't  have  us  stay  long,  because  she 
thinks  we  bang  furniture.  When  we  found  that 
out,  we  banged  and  banged.  Last  summer  we 
only  stayed  a  week." 

"  But  what  makes  you  call  her  c  Crandma '  ?  " 

"Why,  that's  short  for  what  we  think  of  her. 
We  call  this  one  c  Good  Grandma '  and  that  one 
c Cross  Grandma',  and  don't  either  of  'em  know  it. 
And  if  we  call  'em  c  Grandma  '  and  c  Crandma  '  to 
their  faces,  don't  either  of  'em  know  why.  But  we 
do.     Don't  you  see?  " 

I  did,  perfectly. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  MIDNIGHT  HUNT 


IT  was  not  long  after  this  that  the  Grandmother 
said  to  Uncle  Terry  at  breakfast,  after  a  slow 
reading  of  a  letter  in  her  hand  :  — 
"  Well,  what   do    you    think !     Amy    Fullerton 
really  agrees  to  come." 

"  Good  for  her ! "  said  Uncle  Terry.  He  was 
busy  with  his  newspaper,  but  he  looked  up  as  if  she 
had  told  him  better  news  than  the  paper.  "  Amy's 
an  all-round  nice  girl.  She's  a  college  woman, 
isn't  she  ?  and  she's  strung  all  over  with  medals  for 
golf  and  tennis." 

Marcia  and  Kay  pricked  up  their  ears.  "  Golf 
and  tennis!"  They  gave  each  other  an  excited 
glance. 

"  She's  got  a  big   position,"  said   Uncle   Terry. 
u  I  rather  wonder  she's  willing  to  leave  it." 
The  Grandmother  turned  to  the  letter  again. 

64 


The  Midnight  Hunt  65 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  it  seems  it's  this  way.  She'd 
rather  be  in  a  country  town,  and  she  has  some 
special  work  of  her  own  to  do,  —  writing.  And 
she  likes  us  very  much." 

"  You,  you  mean,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "  Amy 
hasn't  seen  me  once  in  the  last  five  years.  Of 
course  she'd  admire  me  down  to  the  ground  if  she 
had ;  but  she  hasn't.  And  as  for  these  kids,  no- 
body could  stand  them." 

I  suppose  I  must  have  looked  queerly  at  him, 
to  see  if  he  really  meant  it,  for  he  gave  me  one  of 
his  quick  smiles  that  seemed  to  tell  a  great  deal 
more  than  words.  The  others  didn't  look  at  him 
at  all.  They  were  used  to  him,  and  treated  him 
with  the  gay  confidence  he  liked. 

"  She  says,"  the  Grandmother  went  on,  still 
poring  over  the  letter,  "  she  says  she  can't  get  away 
now  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  but  she  could 
send  us  a  friend  of  hers  who  is  very  well  up  in 
languages  and  dancing- — does  she  say  dancing? 
Yes,  dancing.  And  if  we'll  take  her  friend  to  fill 
in,  Amy  thinks  she  can  get  to  us  just  after  Christ- 
mas." 

Here  Marcia  took  advantage  of  the  general  in- 
terest in  these  ladies  to  accept  Kay's  oatmeal,  hav- 


66  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

ing  finished  her  own.  Kay  didn't  like  oatmeal> 
and  Marcia  was  always  willing  to  eat  it  for  her, 
when  the  absent-mindedness  of  the  grown-ups  made 
it  possible,  while  Kay  sat  piously  with  Marcia's 
empty  saucer  before  her.  Grandma  folded  the 
letter,  laid  it  beside  her  plate,  and  began  her  toast. 
She  had  a  little  pink  spot  in  each  cheek. 

fc  I  declare/'  she  said,  "  I  am  so  relieved  and 
so  pleased.  Children,  have  you  been  listening  ? 
You're  going  to  have  a  governess,  dear  Amy 
Fullerton." 

"  Yes,"  said  Uncle  Terry,  "  and  you  can't  lead 
Amy  by  the  nose.  She  won't  let  you.  Amy's  got 
an  arm  like  a  steel  spring." 

Marcia  had  finished  the  oatmeal,  and  now  she 
sat  straight,  and  as  tall  as  she  could  manage. 

"  Her  muscle  won't  make  any  difference,"  said 
she.  "They  can't  touch  us.  Grandma  wouldn't 
let  'em." 

"  Oh,  my  dear,  she  won't  want  to  touch  you," 
said  Grandmother,  "  except  in  kindness.  Amy 
is  a  very  beautiful  person." 

"Touch  them?  She'll  biff  'em,"  said  Uncle 
Terry.  "  If  they  behave  like  hoodlums,  she'll 
have  to  maul  'em  like  hoodlums.     I've  no  doubt 


The  Midnight  Hunt  67 

she'll  tie  'em  each  up  to  a  stake  and  hide  'em  well. 
I  must  have  some  stakes  set  out  and  buy  a  cargo 
of  rawhides." 

Even  I  knew  better  than  to  stare  here,  and  in 
a  minute  we  had  left  the  table  and  were  bunched 
on  the  front  steps,  in  the  crisp  morning  air,  decid- 
ing what  to  do.  Ruth  was  always  a  little  afraid 
somebody  was  going  to  be  hurt,  and  now,  I  saw 
in  a  minute,  she  was  preparing  a  pleasant  way  for 
Amy  Fullerton.  Ruth,  although  none  of  the  chil- 
dren were  any  kin  to  Grandma,  was  often  said,  in 
her  soft  kindliness,  to  be  a  little  like  her.  Now 
she  dog's-nosed  Marcia's  hand,  and  said,  in  her 
good  little  voice:- — 

"/  think  she'll  be  nice." 

"  Amy  Fullerton  ?  "  said  Marcia.  "  Maybe.  She 
can  play  tennis.  But  we'd  better  not  say  much 
about  it  till  we've  looked  her  over.  If  we  say 
we  think  she'll  be  nice,  Grandma'll  write  and  tell 
her  so,  and  then  she'll  think  she  knows  where  to 
find  us." 

"  Besides,"  said  Kay,  who  always  had  to  have 
things  proved,  "she  may  be  grand  while  she's 
playing  tennis  and  horrid  when  she  isn't." 

"  Maybe  she'll  fall  in  love  with  Uncle  Terry," 


68  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

said  Ruth,  who  was  always  trying  to  get  hold  of 
what  she  called  "books  with  love  in  them". 
"Maybe  he'll  fall  in  love  with  her." 

Marcia  and  Kay  both  turned  on  her  with  faces 
deeply  shocked. 

"Why,  Ruth  Blake!"  said  Marcia.  "I  never 
heard  you  say  such  an  awful  thing  in  my  life." 

Ruth's  face  was  crimson.  She  looked  as  if  she 
were  going  to  cry. 

"  But  people  do  fall  in  love,"  she  said.  "  It's 
in  the  books.  Other  people  see  they're  in  love 
and  then  they  say  to  them,  cNow  you  can  get 
married.'  The  minister  says  so  and  he  marries 
them.  Uncle  Terry  reads  the  books,  too.  He 
had  one  the  other  day,  and  when  he  laid  it 
down  to  light  his  pipe,  I  took  it  up,  and  that 
was  the  first  thing  I  saw.  c "  I  love  you,"  said 
the  man.'     'Twas  what  it  said." 

"  That's  all  right,"  said  Marcia.  "  Only  Uncle 
Terry  couldn't  say  it  to  anybody,  because  he's 
married  now." 

"Oh,  my!"  said  I.     "Where's  his  wife?" 

"Why,  she's  dead,"  said  Marcia.  "But  he 
can't  marry  anybody  else." 

"  Oh,  yes,  he  can,"  said  I,    "  if  he    wants    to." 


The  Midnight  Hunt  69 

I  could  hardly  talk  fast  enough,  I  was  so  eager 
to  set  them  right.  "I  know,  for  down  horn* 
there  was  a  man,  and  his  wife  died,  and  pretty 
soon  he  went  and  married  again.  And  all  the 
neighbors  called  on  her.  Aunt  Tabitha  did,  and 
she  said  she  was  real  sweet  and  nobody  could 
have  been  more  pleased  than  Jennie,  if  she  knew. 
Jennie  was  his  wife  that  died." 

I  remembered,  too,  that  Aunt  Tabitha  had  said : 
"The  Grandmother  is  a  Step-Grandmother,  but  I 
fancy  the  cousins  don't  even  know  it,  she's  so 
exactly  like  a  real  one."  I  made  up  my  mind  they 
didn't  know  it,  and  I  didn't  dare  tell  them ;  but  I 
smiled  a  little,  thinking  how  surprised  they'd  be  if 
they  knew  such  a  beautiful  thing  as  the  Grand- 
mother was  a  "  step  ".  I  thought  they  might  talk 
differently  if  they  did. 

"  Then  he  must  have  been  a  wicked  man,"  said 
Ruth,  who  could  always  change  her  views  for  more 
romantic  ones.  "  Because  in  one  of  the  books  Mary 
had  on  the  pantry  shelf,  it  said,  cIn  life  or  in  death, 
my  darling,  you  are  mine.'     I  think  that's  lovely." 

"Well,  I  don't,"  said  Marcia.  "I  think  it's 
sickening.  Let's  go  over  to  the  State  House  and 
play  Senate.     I'll  take  the  Chair." 


70  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

So  we  slipped  the  loose  rail  in  the  fence  of  the 
State  House  yard,  and  crossed  the  green  to  the 
gravel  path.  Grandma  had  told  us  it  was  better 
not  to  go  in  that  way,  because  we  made  a  little 
track  across  the  grass,  and  usually  we  tried  to  mind. 
But  to-day,  with  the  talk  of  coming  governesses  in 
the  air,  we  felt  more  lawless.  Besides,  Grandma 
never  actually  forbade  us  to  do  things,  unless  they 
were  so  naughty  that  there  were  no  two  ways  about 
it.  I  heard  Uncle  Terry  talking  it  over  with  her 
once. 

"  I  never  in  my  life  heard  you  say  to  those  kids, 
1  Do  this/  or  c  Do  that/  "  he  told  her. 

"  Well,"  said  Grandma,  "  if  I  should,  and  they 
didn't  do  it,  they'd  be  disobeying  me,  and  that 
would  be  bad  for  them." 

"  If  they  disobey  you,  give  them  a  clout  over 
the  head,"  said  Uncle  Terry,  and  she  just  looked  at 
him  and  said  :  — 

"  O  Terry  !  " 

And  he  laughed,  and  told  her  she  was  a  sweet 
thing,  and  he'd  buy  her  a  bunch  of  blue  ribbon. 

"  But  I'll  tell  you  one  thing,"  said  Marcia,  when 
we  went  up  the  broad  granite  steps,  "  Amy  Fuller- 
ton  is  all  very  well,  but  I  don't  take  much  stock  in 


The  Midnight  Hunt  71 

the  one  that's  coming  first.  Languages  and  danc- 
ing!" 

"  I  don't  care  about  her  myself/'  said  Kay, 
"  Well,  we'll  see  what  we  can  do  with  her." 

Now  Ruth  dog's-nosed  me  through  my  mitten. 

"  I'd  like,"  said  she,  "  to  dance  all  the  time." 

The  State  House  was  a  wonderful  spot  to  play 
in.  When  I  got  used  to  being  there,  I  felt,  as  the 
others  did,  that  it  was  probably  built  for  that,  among 
other  less  important  purposes.  As  long  as  I  stayed 
with  the  cousins,  we  were  there  certainly  two  or 
three  days  out  of  every  week.  Nobody  seemed  to 
see  us.  As  soon  as  we  got  inside  we  moved  about, 
perhaps  awed  by  its  bigness,  as  softly  as  cautious 
mice.  The  Senate  Chamber  was  particularly  attrac- 
tive. The  rows  of  chairs  were  perfect  for  playing 
school,  and  from  the  Speaker's  place  Marcia,  the 
most  dramatic  one  among  us,  treated  an  invisible 
Senate  to  "  Lochinvar  "  and  "  Helvellyn".  While 
she  did  that,  we  played  at  something  else.  We 
didn't  care  particularly  about  speeches  we  didn't 
make  ourselves.  This  day  I  was  the  stranger,  and 
they  proudly  took  me  everywhere :  to  the  "  Cabi- 
net", where  there  were  stuffed  birds  and  minerals, 
and  even  gold  and  fresh-water  pearls  found  not  so 


7  a  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

far  away.  The  three  had  hunted  very  hard  for 
both  these  last,  Ruth  told  me,  but  had  never  found 
a  "speck".  I  was  much  impressed  by  frames  of 
little  photographs,  all  of  soldiers  who  had  gone  to 
the  Civil  War.  These,  I  understood,  were  heroes, 
and  when  I  saw  the  flags,  I  choked  and  sniffed. 
Then  we  went  up  to  the  Zone.  This  was  the  big 
dome,  so  hot  in  summer  that  Marcia  had  named  it 
the  Torrid  Zone,  and  on  up  the  ladders  to  the 
open  platform  at  the  very  top,  where  stood  the  giant 
statue  of  the  State  herself,  a  grain  sheaf  on  her  arm. 
She  was  like  a  tower  to  us,  so  far  below  her  pedes- 
tal ;  we  couldn't  really  see  how  fine  she  was,  but  we 
did  look  over  and  beyond  the  town  to  the  wonder- 
ful blue  hills  ringing  the  valley  round,  and,  in  the 
distance,  one  lone  mountain.  To  me  this  was  a 
very  exciting  time.  I  had  never  been  on  heights, 
and  all  the  bigness  I  knew  was  the  sea.  I  was 
rather  glad  to  go  down  past  the  bronze  Indian  and 
the  hunter  on  the  first  floor  and  out  to  the  pillared 
porch,  where  stood  the  state's  great  hero.  The 
statue  of  the  Indian  had  a  new  interest  for  Kay  and 
Marcia  since  we  had  become  a  Tribe.  They  said  we 
ought  to  salute  him  somehow ;  but  for  a  few  min- 
utes we  couldn't  think  of  a  way.      It  didn't  seem 


The  Midnight  Hunt  73 

appropriate  to  touch  our  forelocks,  and  finally  it 
was  voted,  at  Kay's  suggestion,  that  whenever  we 
came  in,  we  should  stand  before  him  and  say, 
"  Ugh  !  "  This  we  did  now,  grunting  it  in  concert, 
and  then  we  raced  out  into  the  bright  fall  sunshine. 
I  was  still  awed  by  the  stately  building. 

"  Why,"  said  I,  "  it  almost  makes  me  afraid ! " 

At  this  Kay  and  Marcia  laughed,  and  Kay 
said :  — 

"  Stop  and  look  in  this.  See  if  this  makes  you 
afraid." 

It  was  a  most  wonderful  thing  to  children's  eyes : 
an  enormous  door-knob  that  looked  like  glass  with 
silver  blown  into  it.  It  was  like  a  wonderful 
mirror.  It  reflected  and  made  everything  tiny, 
like  the  trees  and  houses  and  streets  of  Fairyland. 
I  was  "  all  carried  away ",  as  we  used  to  say  at 
Sedgmoor,  to  see  our  dots  of  figures  and  the 
figures  in  the  street.  The  cousins  could  hardly 
drag  me  away  from  it,  and  then  only  by  remind- 
ing me  that  I  might  come  to  see  it  any  time,  and 
we'd  bring  flags  to  wave  and  make  the  little  people 
gayer  still.  So  we  ran  away,  planning  the  game 
of  flags,  and  walked  down  the  River  Road,  "  scuff- 
ing "  in  yellow  leaves. 


74  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Already  the  town  was  charming  to  me.  Every 
step  I  took  was,  I  felt,  toward  some  new  happi- 
ness. I  suppose  the  upland  air  excited  me,  fresh 
from  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  I  had  never  imagined 
such  a  blaze  of  color  as  there  was  in  the  maple 
trees.  I  had  never  known  anything  just  like  the 
soft  enchantment  of  the  hour  when  the  mists  rolled 
off  the  near-by  hills  and  they  stood  out,  all  purple- 
black  and  soft,  and  the  world  smelled  of  apples 
and  pears  and  ripened  leaves.  That  day  was  one 
I  think  I  should  have  remembered  always,  we  were 
so  happy.  We  just  roamed  about,  and  talked  a 
little,  and  came  in  for  dinner,  and  then  again  went 
roaming.  And  after  supper  it  grew  suddenly  cool, 
as  it  does  in  the  upland  country,  and  Kay  said :  — 

"  Come,  let's  ask  Grandma  if  we  can  keep  the 
fire  in  the  dining  room  and  do  puzzles  on  the 
table." 

So  we  did,  and  though  I  was  too  sleepy  from  the 
air  to  fit  puzzles  together,  I  could  look  on.  Just 
as  we  were  sitting  down,  Ruth  came  in ;  she  wore 
her  hat  and  coat. 

"  I'm  going  down  to  see  if  Flutino's  got  home," 
she  said,  and  Kay  and  Marcia  nodded,  and  went  on 
with  their  puzzling. 


The  Midnight  Hunt  75 

"  Who's  Flutino  ?  "  I  asked,  out  of  my  sleepiness. 

"  He's  a  boy.  He  lives  down  the  River 
Road,"  said  Kay.  "Just  he  and  his  mother. 
They've  been  away  for  him  to  have  some  piano 
lessons,  and  Mary  thought  she  saw  the  hack  go 
by.     He's  in  our  Clan." 

So  they  went  puzzling  on ;  but  at  eight  o'clock 
one  was  as  sleepy  as  another,  and  we  went  in  and 
kissed  Grandmother  "  Good  night."  It  was  a 
ceremony  I  liked.  All  day  I  used  to  look  for- 
ward to  it. 

"Where's  Ruth?"  said  she. 

"  Down  to  Flutino's,"  said  Marcia,  and  just 
then  Mary  came  in  and  asked  the  Grandmother 
if  she  would  please  come  out  into  the  kitchen  and 
see  Mrs.  Berry.  Little  Ida  Berry  had  a  cold,  and 
Mrs.  Berry  wanted  camphor  oil.  And  the  rest  of 
us  went  off  to  bed. 

I  thought  I  had  not  been  asleep  at  all  when  I 
felt  the  light  on  my  eyelids,  and  awoke.  There 
was  Marcia  with  her  petticoat  on,  though  her  hair 
was  still  in  its  tail  and  her  arms  were  bare.  She 
had  lighted  the  gas  and  now  dropped  the  match  on 
the  floor,  and  I  thought  sleepily  how  naughty  that 
was ;   and  then   I   saw  she   looked  quite    different 


j6  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

from  the  Marcia  I  had  begun  to  know.  Her  eyes 
were  staring  and  very  dark.  When  she  spoke,  her 
lips  chattered  as  if  she  might  be  cold. 

"  Get  up,"  she  said.     "  Ruth's  lost." 

I  put  my  feet  out  of  bed.  I  was  stiff  and  numb 
with  sleep.  Even  then  my  brain  hadn't  come 
awake,  and  I  didn't  see  why  Marcia  was  so  scared. 

"  What  are  you  doing  ? "  she  said  to  me,  when  I 
went  to  the  washstand  and  began  to  lift  the  pitcher. 
The  tone  sounded  as  if  she  were  furious  with  me. 

"  Wash  my  face,"  said  I. 

"Wash  your  face,"  said  she,  "when  Ruth's 
lost?  You  get  into  your  clothes.  Here,  take 
your   shirt." 

She  threw  it  at  me,  and  I  slipped  off  my  nightie 
and  put  it  on.  Then  she  picked  up  the  rest  of  my 
clothes,  one  after  another,  and  pelted  me  with  them, 
and  I  was  soon  dressed,  in  a  rough  sort  of  way. 
But  I  had  come  awake  at  last,  and  had  caught  her 
fear.  If  I  spoke,  I  thought  my  teeth  might  chatter, 
too. 

"  What  does  she  say  ? "  I  asked. 

"Who?" 

"  Grandma." 

"She  doesn't  know  it.     We  can't  let  her  know 


♦  .• :  ••• 


"  <  Get  up,'  "  she  said,  "  <  Ruth's  lost. 


The  Midnight  Hunt  77 

it.  We've  got  to  find  her  ourselves.  Besides* 
Grandma's  gone  over  to  see  Ida." 

"  Where's  Uncle  Terry  ?  " 

"Abed,  I  s'pose.  Come,  you're  ready,  aren't 
you  ? " 

"  Where's  Kay  ? "  I  asked,  and  now  Marcia  had 
my  hand,  and  had  pulled  me  to  the  bedroom  door. 

"  She's  gone.     I  stopped  to  wake  you." 

I  began  to  understand.  Not  only  was  Ruth 
lost,  but  we  were  going  to  find  her,  and  suddenly 
the  sight  of  Marcia's  bare  arms  awoke  some 
common  sense  in  me. 

"  Marcia  Blake,"  I  said,  and  I  felt  as  old  as  the 
Grandmother  when  I  said  it,  "  you  can't  go  out 
without  your  waist  on,  this  cold  night." 

"  Oh,"  said  Marcia,  "  I  forgot.  I'll  get  on  my 
dress,  and  you  tiptoe  downstairs  and  put  on  your 
coat  and  hat." 

There  was  a  tiny  point  of  light  in  the  globe  of 
the  hall  lamp,  but  the  big  rooms  looked  queer  and 
lonesome  to  me.  I  put  my  hand  on  the  banister 
and  crept  slowly  down,  and  when  I  was  halfway,  the 
tall  clock  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  began  to  strike. 
I  forgot  that  well-ordered  clocks  strike  twenty-four 
times  in  the  course  of  as  many  hours.     These  clear 


78  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

notes  seemed  all  meant  for  me :  reproof,  alarm, 
threats  even,  they  carried.  And  I  stopped  still 
and  counted  them,  and  there  were  twelve.  Then 
I  did  feel  a  little  choked  in  the  throat:  for  I  had 
thought  it  the  edge  of  the  evening,  and  here  it  was 
midnight,  when  all  sorts  of  odd  things  happen,  if 
they  happen  at  all.  But  while  I  stood  there  like 
a  mouse  scared  in  the  midst  of  cheese,  Marcia 
appeared  at  the  head  of  the  stairs.  She  bestrode 
the  rail  and  came  noiselessly  whizzing  down.  She 
had  chosen  the  method  of  firemen  when  they  hear 
the  alarm,  and  I  was  ashamed  of  my  fear  and  crept 
down  after.  She  had  all  our  things  out  of  the 
closet,  and  mine  she  thrust  at  me.  I  put  them  on 
in  a  despairing  haste.  I  really  was  a  coward,  and 
now  that  the  clock  had  told  me  the  dreadful  hour, 
I  was  pretty  sure  of  never  getting  back  into  the 
house  again.  Marcia  softly  drew  the  bolt  and 
opened  the  big  door.  Kay,  I  found  out  afterward, 
had  descended  from  the  top  of  the  veranda  by  a 
trellis,  a  way  she  had.  Marcia  closed  the  door 
behind  us,  and  I  whispered :  — 

"  I  don't  think  we  ought  to  leave  it  unfastened, 
do  you  ? " 

She  didn't  even  answer  me.     She  took  my  hand, 


The  Midnight  Hunt  79 

and  pulled  me  along,  and  we  crossed  the  wet  grass 
that  led  back  to  the  Plantation,  and  began  to  thread 
our  way  among  the  trees.  The  air  was  cold, 
though  a  little  damp,  but  the  sky  was  clear.  I 
took  one  look  overhead  and  found  the  Dipper.  It 
was  a  comfort  to  see  it,  because  it  was  the  same  old 
Dipper  we  had  been  used  to  at  Sedgmoor,  Aunt 
Tabitha  and  I;  but  I  never  remembered  to  have 
seen  it  tipped  like  that.  I  fancied  it  must  be  be- 
cause it  was  midnight  and  everything  was  different. 
But  the  air  on  my  face  .was  pleasant  to  me,  and 
Marcia  was  dragging  me  at  a  good  pace,  and 
suddenly  I  found  I  was  not  afraid.  Marcia  knew 
her  way  perfectly  among  the  trees.  She  never  lost 
the  little  path  once,  and  I  felt  as  if  we  were  prob- 
ably going  on  forever  dodging  trees  that  seemed  to 
jump  at  us,  and  with  the  Dipper  over  our  heads. 
Suddenly  we  stopped  as  still  as  a  rabbit  scared. 
We  heard  a  whistle.  "  Bob  White  !  Bob  White !  " 
just  those  two  notes. 

"  Why,"  said  I,  "there's  a  quail.  I  never  heard 
one  so  late  in  the  fall." 

"It's  Kay,"  said  Marcia.  "Or  else  it's  Ruth. 
That's  our  signal.  We  must  find  out  where  it 
is." 


80  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

But  the  quail  seemed  to  be  directly  ahead  of  us 
in  the  way  we  were  going,  and  suddenly  we  came 
on  a  figure  standing  in  the  path. 

«■  Oh  !  "  I  cried.     I  couldn't  help  it. 

But  Marcia  left  me,  and  pounced  upon  it,  and 
then  I  saw  it  was  Kay. 

"  No  signs  ?  "  said  Marcia. 

"  No,"  said  Kay.  Her  voice  was  so  strange 
that,  if  it  had  not  been  dark,  I  thought  I  should 
see  that  Kay  was  crying. 

"  Been  to  the  Playhouse  ?  "  Marcia  asked. 

"  Yes,  and  whistled  all  round." 

"Well,"  said  Marcia,  thoughtfully,  "she  wouldn't 
answer,  you  see,  not  if  she  heard  you." 

"  No,"  said  Kay,  forlornly. 

Then  I  had  what  I  thought  was  a  very  bright 
idea. 

"  Why,"  I  said,  <c  Ruth  was  going  to  do  things 
at  night,  to  learn  not  to  be  afraid.  Maybe  she's 
out  doing  'em." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Marcia.  <c  What  else  do  you 
s'pose  ?  That's  why  she  won't  answer,  if  she  hears 
us." 

"Then,"  said  I,  stupidly,  "if  you  know  what 
she's  doing  it  for,  you  needn't  be  scared.     I  thought 


The  Midnight  Hunt  8l 

when  we  talked  about  it  you  said  she  was  going  to 
do  all  the  things  alone,  or  else  it  wouldn't  amount 
to  anything." 

Marcia  stamped  her  foot  on  the  leafy  ground 
I  heard  her. 

"  Why/'  said  she,  as  if  she  were  too  angry  or  too 
frightened  to  speak,  "  do  you  s'pose  we're  going  to 
let  Ruth  be  out  alone  at  night  doing  things  ?  Why, 
Ruth's  a  little  girl !  " 

"  But  you  said  —  "I  began. 

"  'Course  we  said,"  Marcia  interrupted  me. 
"  We  thought  we  could,  didn't  we,  till  we'd  tried 
it  ?     We  never  thought  'twould  be  like  this." 

Kay  gave  a  little  sniff.  She  was  not  a  crying 
girl,  and  I  think  the  certainty  that  her  face  was  wet 
did  more  to  upset  me  than  even  the  fear  that  Ruth 
was  somewhere  alone  and  terrified. 

"Searched  the  Playhouse,  of  course,"  Marcia 
asked. 

"  I  went  in,"  said  Kay,  "  and  felt  on  the  bed  and 
called." 

"I'm  going  in  again,"  said  Marcia.  "  She  might 
scooch  down  under  the  table  and  keep  still." 

So  we  went  on  to  the  Playhouse,  and  Marcia 
took  the  key  from  under  the  stone  as  she  had  that 


82  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

other  day,  and  opened  the  door,  and  we  stepped  int 
It  was  very  lonesome  inside  the  little  house.  The 
shapes  of  things  looked  queer.  I  thought  it  was 
almost  better  to  be  out  of  doors  after  midnight  than 
in  a  house  in  the  woods  where  there  are  no  kind 
grown-ups.  Marcia  was  hunting  for  a  match, 
running  her  hands  over  the  mantel,  and  once  she 
knocked  off  a  vase,  and  it  fell  to  the  hearth  and 
smashed. 

"That's  Ruth's  Rosy  Mug,"  said  Kay,  miser- 
ably.    "  Oh,  dear  !  " 

Now  Marcia  struck  a  match,  and  our  six  eyes 
took  in  the  whole  of  the  room  at  a  glance.  Ruth 
was  not  there.     The  match  went  out. 

"  Well,"  said  Marcia,  "  where  now  ?  " 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  think,"  said  Kay.  "  Mary 
told  Grandma  just  before  supper  that  Jake 
Toppan's  cow  pulled  her  hopple  off  and  got  in 
our  garden  and  begun  to  eat  the  Hubbardstons 
on  the  ground.  Mary  went  out  to  shoo  her, 
and  the  cow  just  jumped  the  fence  and  ran  down 
here  in  the  Plantation.  Maybe  Ruth  found  out 
Jake  hadn't  got  her  in,  and  she  thought  she'd  stay 
out  with  the  cow  all  night  —  because  she's  'fraidcr 
of  cows  than  anything,  'most." 


The  Midnight  Hunt  83 

Marcia  seemed  to  consider  that  a  brilliant  thought. 

"Then  she's  in  the  Plantation/'  she  said.  "She 
must  be  awful  cold." 

"  'Course  she  is,"  said  I,  in  the  tone  of  the 
grown-ups  I  had  been  used  to  talk  with  at  Sedg- 
moor.     "  She'll  get  her  death." 

But  nobody  really  noticed  me.  I  only  made  one 
more  in  the  rescuing  party.  I  was  a  private  sol- 
dier, not  a  captain. 

"  Now,  what  I  think  is,"  said  Kay,  "  she's  in 
the  Plantation,  and  if  she  is,  she's  scared  'most 
to  death.  So  we've  got  to  stay  round  here  till 
daylight." 

I  privately  wondered  whether  we  might  not  come 
on  the  cow,  and  what  the  cow  would  say ;  but  I, 
too,  was  wretchedly  troubled  by  this  time  and 
ashamed  of  remembering  horns. 

"  Shall  we  bob-white  ?  "  Marcia  asked. 

I  learned  now  for  the  first  time  that  bob-white 
was  a  verb.  If  you  called  one  of  the  Tribe,  you 
bob-whited  her. 

"  No,"  said  Kay,  decisively.  "  It  sounds  differ- 
ent at  night.     You  don't  know  who's  doing  it." 

"  I  guess,"  said  Marcia,  "  we'd  better  sing. 
She'll  hear  it  and  know  we're  all  on  hand." 


84  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Then  I  found  out  another  thing :  that  my  two 
wonderful  cousins  had  wonderful  voices. 

"  Of  course  we  can  sing,"  Marcia  said,  in  a  great 
surprise  next  day  when  I  told  her  how  I  liked  it. 
"  Everybody  in  our  family  can  sing.  That's  why 
Aunt  Tabitha's  gone  abroad  to  study." 

"  But  I  can't,"  I  said,  meekly. 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  Marcia,  u  you  probably  could  if 
you  tried.  All  you  have  to  do  is  just  know  a  song 
and  open  your  mouth  and  not  think  about  it.  It's 
the  same  as  talking." 

But  that  night  in  the  dark !  No  matter  if  Ruth 
was  lost,  I  couldn't  get  over  the  enchantment  of  it. 
"  One  sang  high,  the  other  sang  low,"  as  the  old 
ballad  says,  and  it  was  old  ballads  they  sang. 
Uncle  Terry  had  a  love  of  the  past,  and  he  had 
gone  over  England  many  a  summer  hunting  ancient 
tunes,  and  these  he  had  taught  to  the  girls.  They 
sang  "The  Frog  and  the  Mouse", with  its  rattling 
refrain  of:  — 

*'  With  a  harum-scarum  diddle-' em  dare-' em, 
Whipsey-diddly-dandy  O  ! " 

They  sang  "  The  Wraggle-Taggle  Gipsies  "  and 
a  dozen  others,  all  with  a  gay  lilt  and  swing.     It 


The   Midnight  Hunt  8$ 

was  no  night  for  sad  ballads,  with  Ruth  out  in  the 
dew  and  cold.  So  down  through  the  Plantation 
we  wandered,  they  softly  singing  and  I  holding 
Marcia's  hand,  and  in  such  a  state  of  enchantment 
that  I  believe  I  could  have  met  a  drove  of  big- 
horned  oxen  and  felt  no  fear.  We  seemed  to  walk 
at  random,  but  I  found  afterward  that  there  were 
little  paths  they  knew ;  and  when  the  town  clock 
struck  "  One ! "  with  a  hollow  boom,  we  came  out 
at  the  end  of  the  Plantation  on  a  high  board  fence, 
and  just  beyond  that  a  white  house  looming.  They 
had  just  finished  a  ballad,  "  Lord  Lovell ",  I  think 
it  was,  and  Kay  said,  in  a  low  tone :  — 

"  We  mustn't  sing  so  near  the  house.  They'll 
hear  us." 

"  Whose  house  is  it  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Mrs.  Gray's,"  said  Marcia.  "  She's  Flutino's 
mother." 

"  Ruth  wouldn't  be  down  here,  anyway,"  said 
Kay.  u  She'd  know  she  wouldn't  be  afraid  where 
Flutino  could  hear." 

There  was  a  window  wide  open  just  opposite  the 
garden  gate.  A  head  suddenly  appeared  in  it  and  a 
voice  said,  perfectly  calmly,  as  if  it  were  used  to 
greeting  folks  at  one  in  the  morning :  — 


86  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Hullo ! " 

"  Sh  !  "  said  Marcia. 

"  Sh  !  "  said  Kay. 

"  Hold  on,"  said  the  voice,  cc  Fm  coming." 

The  head  disappeared  from  the  window. 

"  There ! "  said  Marcia.  I  could  see  she  was 
much  annoyed.     "  Now  we've  waked  him  up." 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Flutino,"  said  Kay.  "  We  can't  have  him  out 
here  in  the  wet,  getting  cold  in  his  voice." 

"  Do  you  s'pose  you'll  get  cold  in  your  voices  ? " 
I  asked.  They  seemed  to  me  very  precious  voices 
indeed. 

"  We're  not  going  to  sing  in  public,"  said  Kay. 
"  Flutino  is." 

We  lingered  perhaps  five  minutes,  and  then  there 
came  a  leafy  rustling  on  the  other  side  of  the  fence. 
A  little  door  I  had  not  seen  in  the  general  grayness 
was  pushed  open,  and  a  figure,  taller  than  Marcia 
and  I,  came  through. 

"  Got  on  your  overcoat?"  asked  Kay,  like  a 
mother. 

"  Naw  !  "  said  Flutino,  in  scorn.     "  What's  up  ? " 

"You  go  back,"  said  Marcia,  with  a  mother's 
firmness,  "  and  put  on  your  ulster." 


The   Midnight  Hunt  87 

<r  Shan't  either/'  said  Flutino.     "  What's  up  ?  " 

cc  Then,"  said  Marcia,  "  I  shall  ring  the  front 
door-bell  and  call  your  mother." 

Flutino  seemed  to  melt  away  into  the  dark.  He 
disappeared  through  the  little  door,  and  again  I 
heard  the  rustling  of  leaves  on  the  other  side.  Kay 
turned  about,  and  Marcia  and  I  followed.  We 
went  slowly  back,  but  it  was  not  long  before  we 
heard  running  steps  behind  us.     It  was  Flutino. 

"  Say,  girls,"  said  he,  cosily,  "  it's  between  one 
and  two.     D'you  know  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Kay,  rather  crossly.  "  What  are 
you  awake  for,  anyway  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  waked  me,  singing,"  said  Flutino, 
innocently.  "  I  thought  something  was  up. 
Where'll  we  go  now  ?  " 

"  We  can't  tell  you  anything  about  it,"  said 
Marcia.  Her  voice  trembled,  much  like  Kay's. 
"  Honest,  we  can't.  It's  something  we're  in,  and 
can't  anybody  else  come  in." 

I  didn't  know  Flutino  then.  I  didn't  know  the 
tones  of  his  voice ;  but  I  thought,  though  it  meant 
to  be  gay,  that  it  sounded  hurt. 

"  All  right,"  said  he.     "  Where's  Ruth  ?  M 

This  was  too  much. 


88  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Ruth/'  said  Marcia.     "  Ruth  —  didn't  come." 

But  the  sound  of  her  name  had  brought  back  all 
our  fear. 

"  What  do  you  say,"  said  Kay  to  Marcia,  "  to 
going  down  by  the  old  mill  where  Uncle  Terry 
took  us  that  night  ?  It's  pretty  lonesome  down 
there.      Maybe  —  " 

Marcia  didn't  answer,  but  she  began  to  walk 
faster,  and  we  saw  she  thought  so,  too.  Flutino 
didn't  say  a  word ;  but  he  came  along  in  the  rear, 
and  even  then  I  saw  what  a  nice  boy  he  was,  never 
to  fuss,  but  to  come  along.  Marcia  and  Kay  began 
to  sing  again.  They  were  so  discouraged  now  that 
they  sang  gay  ballads  like  sad  ones ;  but  Flutino 
joined,  in  a  beautiful  high  voice,  and  I  felt  a 
minute's  envy  because  it  seemed  so  perfectly  easy 
to  have  voices  that  I  might  as  well  have  had  one, 
too.  We  got  off  the  Plantation  by  a  short  cut 
that  led  over  a  wall,  and  went  fast  down  the 
River  Road.  Nobody  had  thought  to  introduce 
me  to  Flutino.  Indeed,  as  I  remember,  nobody 
ever  did,  and  I  don't  believe  we  wondered  at  it. 
Flutino  wasn't  his  name  at  all,  but  he  had  once 
sung  a  part  in  an  operetta,  and  the  name  had 
clung  to  him.     We  turned  in  at  the  narrow  path, 


The   Midnight  Hunt  89 

and  pushed  on  through  the  bushy  road  to  the  old 
mill.  And  there,  too,  it  was  eerie,  and  I  was  glad 
we  had  Flutino  with  us.  The  enchantment  that 
Uncle  Terry  had  managed  to  weave  about  the 
spot  was  gone.  I  thought  of  the  Alives.  I 
wondered  if  they  were  there,  and  I'm  sure  the 
others  did,  too.  But  we  were  fagged  and  cold. 
We  stopped  by  the  semicircle  of  stones  where  we 
had  sat  that  night,  and  they  sang  a  song  that 
sounded  like  a  dirge,  all  but  the  brave  notes  of 
Flutino,  who  had  his  courage  yet.  I  believe  they 
sang  more,  and  we  even  sat  down  on  the  stones  and 
shivered  in  company.  The  stars  kept  bright,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  the  night  would  never  pass.  And 
all  the  courage  ran  out  of  us  at  once,  and  Kay 
said :  — 

"  Let's  go  home." 

So  in  a  draggled  way  we  went  up  the  River 
Road  again,  and  when  we  came  in  sight  of  our 
house  that  we  had  left  as  dark  as  pitch,  we  found 
it  brightly  lighted.  And  when  we  walked  up  the 
path,  the  door  flew  open,  and  there  was  the  Grand- 
mother, looking  wild  and  white,  her  gray  fur 
cloak  about  her,  as  if  she,  too,  had  just  come  in 
out  of  the  cold.     Mary  was  behind  her  and  Uncle 


90  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Terry,  both  of  them,  as  I  could  well  see,  hot  with 
anger  against  us,  where  she  was  only  distressed  and 
terrified.  She  fell  upon  us  all  together,  as  if  she 
wanted  to  get  us  into  her  arms  and  couldn't  do  it 
soon  enough. 

"  O  children/'  she  cried,  "  where  have  you 
been  ? "  And  then,  when  the  group  apparently 
didn't  look  complete  to  her,  she  added  sharply, 
"Where's  Ruth?" 


CHAPTER   VI 


THE    TRIBAL    OATH 


MARCIA,  without  a  word,  went  to  the  back 
of  the  hall,  and  began  to  take  off  her 
things.  Kay  sat  down  on  the  stairs  and 
gazed,  as  if  she  were  trying  hard  to  decide  some- 
thing, at  her  feet.  They  both  looked  draggled  and 
miserable. 

"  Marcia,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  His  voice  sounded 
like  a  captain's  in  command.  We  all  started  at  it. 
"  Marcia,  come  here.     Kay,  get  up." 

They  obeyed  him,  and  Flutino  and  I  huddled 
back  by  the  door,  Flutino,  cap  in  hand,  and 
wondering,  because  he  didn't  know  what  it  was  all 
about,  and  I  too  tired  and  cold  to  do  anything  but 
shiver  and  wish  we  had  found  Ruth. 

"  Now,"  said  Uncle  Terry,  "  answer  your  Grand- 
mother. Tell  her  where  Ruth  is,  and  where  you've 
been." 

Marcia  was  a  queer  yellow  white,  Kay  was 
crimson.     And   Marcia  opened   her  lips  and  gave 

91 


92  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

me  a  big  surprise.  I  hadn't  known  you  could 
refuse  when  grown-ups  spoke  to  you. 

"  I  don't  know  where  Ruth  is,  Uncle  Terry,  and 
I  can't  tell  you  where  we've  been." 

She  hated  so  terribly  to  say  it,  that  she  said  it 
sulkily.  I  knew  perfectly  well  how  she  felt,  but 
perhaps  Uncle  Terry  didn't.  At  any  rate,  he  gave 
no  sign  of  softening. 

"  Kay,"  said  he,  in  the  same  dreadful  tone,  "  get 
up  here,  and  tell  your  Grandmother  where  you've 
been." 

Kay  had  sunk  back  on  the  stairs,  really  because 
she  was  too  discouraged  to  stand,  and  now  she 
stood  looking  him  desperately  in  the  face. 

"  I  can't,"  she  said.     "  I  can't." 

"  Why  can't  you,  dear  ?  "  asked  the  Grandmother, 
just  as  sweetly  as  if  we  hadn't  worried  her  out  of 
her  night's  sleep. 

"We've  promised  not  to,"  said  Kay,  in  a  lower 
voice. 

Now  she,  too,  sounded  sulky,  but  it  was  the 
wretchedness  of  it  all  that  did  it. 

"Well,  dear,"  said  the  Grandmother,  "whom 
did  you  promise  ?  " 

"  I  can't  tell,"  said  Kay. 


The  Tribal  Oath  93 

Uncle  Terry  turned  to  me.  I  saw  my  time  was 
coming,  and  I  wondered  whether  I  could,  in  the 
face  of  the  Grandmother's  distress,  keep  my 
promise  to  the  Tribe.  But  she  looked  at  me. 
She  must  have  seen  what  it  all  meant  to  me,  and 
she  stepped  in  and  saved  me. 

"  No  more  questions,  Terry,"  she  said.  "  They're 
tired." 

"  Tired  !  "  Uncle  Terry  broke  in. 

"  Go  up  to  bed,  children,"  said  the  Grandmother. 
"  Uncle  Terry  and  I  have  got  to  go  out  somewhere 
—  we  don't  know  where  —  and  find  Ruth." 

If  she  meant  to  soften  our  despairing  little  hearts 
by  the  picture  of  her  wandering  through  the  night 
on  a  quest  we  perhaps  might  save  her  from,  she 
was  disappointed.  The  picture  did  make  us 
wretched  beyond  words,  but  we  were  the  Tribe 
and  we  had  sworn.  I  knew  afterward  that  a  part 
of  her  teaching  had  always  been  that  a  promise, 
once  given,  must  be  kept.  To  break  it  would  be 
a  lie  direct,  and  lies  had  no  place  in  this  queer  dis- 
ordered little  kingdom.  I  had  forgotten  Flutino. 
Now  he  spoke,  in  his  manly,  straightforward  voice. 

"  I'll  go  with  you,  Mrs.  Blake.  I  haven't 
promised,  so  I  can.     I  know  all  the  places." 


94  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  No,  dear/'  said  the  Grandmother,  gently,  but 
putting  her  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  leaving  it 
there  a  minute,  as  if  she  liked  to  lean  on  him. 
"You  run  right  home  now.  Your  mother  would 
be  worried." 

Flutino,  cap  still  in  hand,  went  out,  and  I  heard 
his  footsteps  on  the  walk. 

"  Now,  children !"  said  Grandmother.  She 
sounded  very  firm,  and  I  wondered  if  she  could 
ever  love  us  again.     "  Go  straight  to  bed." 

We  went  up  the  stairs,  not  lightly  as  we  usually 
ran,  but  clambering,  as  it  sounded,  we  were  so 
miserable.  Only  Marcia  stopped  a  minute  before 
the  Grandmother,  and  looked  at  her,  and  drew  a 
long  breath,  and  opened  her  lips  as  if  she  meant  to 
speak. 

"  Can't  you  tell  me,  dear  ? "  asked  the  Grand- 
mother, gently,  and  Marcia  shook  her  head,  and 
tightened  her  trembling  lips  and  went  upstairs. 
She  and  Kay  came  into  my  room,  because  it  was 
nearest,  and  Kay  shut  the  door.  Then  we  sat 
down  on  the  bed,  and  Kay  said,  in  a  queer  dull 
voice :  — 

"  If  Grandma  goes  out  and  gets  cold,  she'll  have 
pneumonia,  same  as  she  did  before." 


The  Tribal  Oath  95 

"  Well,  I  can't  help  it,  can  I  ? "  said  Marcia, 
angrily.  She  was  so  worried  by  the  prospect  of 
it,  that  it  almost  appeared  as  if  she  didn't  care 
about  the  Grandmother  at  all.  "  We've  made  the 
promise,  haven't  we  ?  We  can't  help  it,  can  we  ? 
What  are  we  going  to  do  ? " 

"  I'd  tell,"  said  I,  miserably.  I  thought  of  the 
Grandmother  with  pneumonia  and  Ruth  lost  in  a 
deep  wood  with  a  cow  behind  every  tree.  I  was 
lightheaded  enough  from  misery  and  lack  of  sleep 
to  think  anything. 

"  Tell  ? "  repeated  Kay,  in  a  tone  of  the  biggest 
sort  of  surprise. 

"  And  break  our  promise  ?  "  Marcia  came  in. 

"Yes,"  said  I,  boldly.  If  they  were  going  to 
despise  me,  they  might  as  well  begin  now.  "  I'd 
tell  anything  when  she  asked  me." 

"Then  you're  a  Pale  Face,"  said  Marcia,  "and 
you  don't  belong  in  the  Tribe." 

But  as  she  said  it,  her  head  sank  on  my  con- 
venient shoulder,  and  a  beautiful  drowsiness  came 
over  me,  and  I  believe  we  all  went  to  sleep  in  a 
mass,  though  we  thought  we  were  broad  awake 
and  listening.     The  last  thing  I  heard  was  Kay. 

"  They're    talking    down    there.      They    haven't 


96  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

gone  yet."  But  her  voice  sounded  far  off,  and  I 
meant  to  answer  in  a  minute  when  I'd  thought  it 
over. 

The  next  thing  I  knew,  my  face  felt  hot,  and 
I  opened  my  eyes  and  found  the  morning  sun 
was  shining  in  on  us.  And  as  I  stirred  from  my 
cramped  position,  half  sitting,  half  lying,  Kay  and 
Marcia  also  moved,  and  stretched  their  arms,  and 
Marcia  asked:  — 

"  Have  I  been  asleep  ?  " 

Well,  even  if  we  wouldn't  own  to  being  asleep, 
there  we  were,  dressed  in  last  night's  hasty  and 
untidy  fashion,  and  we  got  up,  and  Marcia  and 
Kay  went  off  to  their  room.  But,  first,  Kay  called 
down  the  stairs  to  Mary  who  was  flying  through  the 
hall  on  some  very  particular  errand,  we  thought :  — 

"  Mary,  has  Ruth  come  ?  " 

She  looked  up  at  us  from  the  foot  of  the  stairs, 
and  I  saw  that  her  fresh  face  was  marked  with  tears. 

"  No,"  she  called,  "  no.  And  you're  wicked 
children,  that's  what  you  are." 

"  Mary ! "  came  the  Grandmother's  voice  from 
the  dining  room,  and  Mary  went  on,  leaving  us 
more  gloomily  certain  that  we  hadn't  a  friend 
left. 


The  Tribal  Oath  97 

"  What  did  she  have  the  smelling-bottle  for  ? " 
Marcia  asked  Kay,  as  they  turned  away  to  their 
room. 

"  Why,  I  s'pose  Grandma's  faint,"  said  Kay, 
"  being  up  all  night  and  getting  pneumonia.  I 
wish  we  were  both  dead." 

I  went  back  to  my  room  in  a  very  sad  frame  of 
mind,  and  brushed  my  hair  and  tried  to  make 
myself  tidy.  But  I  knew  my  good  times  with  the 
cousins  were  over.  Nobody  would  forgive  us, 
nobody  but  the  Grandmother  would  ever  notice 
us  any  more.  I  wondered  what  Aunt  Tabitha 
would  say,  singing  away  there  in  Germany,  and 
quite  easy  about  me  because  I  had  promised  to  be 
a  good  girl. 

When  Kay  and  Marcia  had  dressed,  they  came 
to  my  door,  and  Marcia  said,  gloomily :  — 

"  Well,  we  might  as  well  go  down.  We've  got 
to  have  some  breakfast,  I  suppose." 

And  as  we  clumped  down  the  stairs,  perfectly 
certain  that  nobody  would  want  to  see  us,  and  that 
Uncle  Terry  might  be  very  blunt  indeed,  the  hall 
door  opened,  and  Ruth  came  in,  in  her  hat  and 
jacket  just  as  she  had  gone  to  Flutino's  the  night 
before.     And  this  was  what  we  did.     We  who  had 


98  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

been  so  distracted  about  her  that  we  felt  as  if 
there  was  never  going  to  be  any  more  fun  in  the 
world  unless  she  came  back,  we  filed  past  her  into 
the  dining  room  like  little  savages. 

"  Hullo,  Ruth,"  said  Marcia. 

Kay  said  the  same,  and  when  my  turn  came,  I 
said  it,  too.  But  the  Grandmother  had  heard  us. 
She  had  been  lying  on  the  sofa  in  the  dining  room, 
and  Uncle  Terry  stood  near  pretending  to  read, 
but  really,  I  think,  watching  her  because  she  had 
been  faint.  She  sat  up,  listened,  and  then  gave  a 
little  cry. 

"  Is  that  Ruth  ?  Come  here,  my  darling.  Come 
here ! "  But  she  didn't  stop  for  Ruth  to  come. 
The  Grandmother  never  waited  to  show  how  much 
she  loved  us.  She  flew  off  the  couch,  and  ran  into 
the  hall,  with  her  swift  grace  like  a  girl's,  and  bent 
to  Ruth  and  hugged  and  kissed  her  over  and  over 
again.  "  Where  have  you  been,  dear  ?  "  she  asked. 
"Tell  Grandma  where  you've  been." 

We  were  in  our  seats  at  the  table  now,  for  Uncle 
Terry  had  finished,  and  it  looked  as  if  the  Grand- 
mother had  had  her  coffee.  Mary,  who  must  have 
heard  the  turmoil  through  the  slide,  brought  our 
oatmeal,  and  she  looked  at  Ruth,  coming  in  now 


The  Tribal  Oath  99 

with  Grandma,  quite  unpleasantly.  Ruth,  we  saw, 
even  though  she  had  returned,  was  in  as  deep  dis- 
grace as  we ;  and  since  we'd  really  got  her  back  and 
needn't  worry  any  more,  we  thought  that  was  rather 
funny,  on  the  whole.  The  grown-ups  would  get 
over  it.  They  always  did.  Ruth  had  lost  some  of 
her  pretty  color.  She  clung  to  Grandma,  and  I 
thought  she  was  going  to  cry.  At  that  moment 
Uncle  Terry  spoke,  and  I  was  sorry.  He  seemed, 
with  his  ideas  of  firmness,  to  complicate  things,  and 
I  wished  he  had  gone  "up  street". 

"  Ruth,"  said  he,  in  the  tone  he  had  used  to  us 
the  night  before,  "  where' ve  you  been  ?  " 

Ruth  hesitated  and  looked  up  into  Grandma's 
face.  The  look  seemed  to  beg  Grandma  not  to  let 
Uncle  Terry  ask  again.  But  I  saw,  for  the  first 
time  since  I  had  known  them,  that  Grandma  wasn't 
on  our  side.  Aunt  Tabitha  had  a  phrase  she  used 
occasionally,  to  warn  me  not  to  try  her  beyond 
patience.  "  Laura,"  she  would  say,  "  don't  go  too 
far."  We  had  gone  too  far.  We  were  over  the 
line,  and  nobody  was  going  to  stand  up  for  us  any 
more  until  we  came  back  from  that  mysterious  coun- 
try known  as  "  Too  Far  ". 

"  Ruth,"   said    the    Grandmother,  "  your   Uncle 


ioo  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Terry  asked  you  a  question.  Answer  it  at  once. 
Where  have  you  been  ?  " 

Ruth's  eyes  had  dropped,  but  now  again  she 
looked  up  at  Grandma.  She  looked  at  Marcia  and 
Kay  and  me  in  turn.  Perhaps  she  hoped  we 
might,  by  some  Tribal  signal,  urge  her  to  go  ahead 
and  tell ;  we  should  think  her  just  as  good  an 
Indian.  But  we  sat  stonily  and  ate  our  oatmeal, 
and  thought  that  was  how  braves  behaved  when 
they  were  put  to  the  torture.  So  she  set  her  pretty 
mouth  as  Marcia  and  Kay  had  set  theirs  the  night 
before,  and  said,  in  a  very  miserable  tone :  — 

"  Grandma,  I  can't  tell  you." 

Grandma  waited  a  full  minute,  looking  down  at 
the  top  of  Ruth's  shiny  head,  and  Uncle  Terry 
watched  her,  evidently  to  see  what  she  meant  to 
do. 

"  Very  well,"  she  said  then.  "  Eat  your  break- 
fast, and  afterward  you  may  come  to  me  —  all  four 
of  you  —  in  the  sitting  room.     Come,  Terry." 

Then  she  went  out,  Uncle  Terry  following,  with 
never  a  look  for  us,  and  we  hurried  over  the  toast, 
and  drank  our  milk,  and  slid  out  of  our  chairs  to 
go  in  there  and  get  it  over.  Ruth  slipped  over  to 
Kay  and  dog's-nosed  her  hand. 


The  Tribal  Oath  xoi 

"You  don't  think  I  could,  do  you  ?  "  she  asked, 
tremblingly. 

"  We  haven't  told,"  said  Kay,  haughtily.  "  You 
can  do  as  you  like." 

"  Oh,  no,  I  can't,"  said  Ruth,  in  an  agony  of 
wanting  everybody  to  love  her  and  not  knowing 
how  to  bring  it  about  in  this  terrible  state  of  things. 
"  'Course  I'm  going  to  do  what  you  do.  But 
Uncle  Terry's  awful  when  he  looks  like  that^  and 
Grandma  —  " 

She  couldn't  go  on,  nor  could  we  have  finished 
for  her.  The  terrible  spectacle  of  the  Grand- 
mother's sweet  cold  dignity  toward  us  made  us 
feel  like  little  outcasts.  To  add  to  all  this,  Mary 
came  in  at  that  moment,  to  clear  the  table,  and 
she  said,  in  a  voice  carefully  dropped  so  that  the 
grown-ups  shouldn't  hear:  — 

"  I  hope  you've  thought  up  something  to  do 
to  worry  your  Grandmother  to-day.  It  would 
be  a  pity  if  she  had  a  minute's  peace,  when  there's 
nothing  she  thinks  of  from  morning  till  night  but 
how  to  do  nice  things  for  you." 

So  Mary,  too,  had  cast  us  off.  Chocolate  cake 
and  candy  privileges  in  the  kitchen  were  ours  no 
more.     A  very  saddened,  humbled  little  group,  we 


io2  *  The .Secret  ,of  the  Clan 

trailed  across  the  hall  to  the  sitting  room,  where 
the  Grandmother  and  Uncle  Terry  awaited  us. 
Grandmother  was  sitting  with  her  hands  folded 
upon  her  little  handkerchief,  as  if  she  had  come  to 
make  a  call,  and  Uncle  Terry  made  no  pretence  of 
even  holding  a  book.  They  were  our  judges,  and 
they  were  waiting  there  to  judge.  We  stopped 
before  the  Grandmother  and  tried  not  to  look  at 
Uncle  Terry.  She  spoke,  but  in  that  new  tone, 
kind  and  yet  so  firm  and  terrifying. 

"  Marcia,  where  did  you  go  last  night  ? " 

"  I  can't  tell  you,  Gramma,"  said  Marcia.  Her 
voice  frightened  me,  it  was  so  dull  and  sad  and 
unlike  Marcia.     "  Honest,  I  can't." 

"  Kay,"  said  the  Grandmother,  "  where  did  you 
go  last  night?" 

"  We  promised,"  said  Kay,  desperately  and 
rather  loudly.  "  We  can't  break  our  promise.  I 
don't  see  how  you  could  think  we  could,  Gramma. 
We  can't." 

"  Ruth,"  said  the  Grandmother,  "  where  did  you 
go  last  night  ?  " 

Ruth  suddenly  wilted  and  sat  down  on  a  has- 
sock. 

u  No'm,"  she  said,  as  if  she  didn't  really  know 


The  Tribal  Oath  103 

what  she  was  saying.  "  No'm.  I  can't.  I  can't. 
I  can't." 

Then  the  Grandmother,  looking  very  miserable, 
as  if  she  hated  the  whole  business,  asked  the  same 
question  of  me.  And  I,  little  stupid,  wouldn't 
speak  at  all.  I  couldn't.  I  knew  I  mustn't 
break  my  vows  to  the  Tribe,  and  still  there  was 
nothing  I  could  refuse  her.  And  not  knowing 
what  to  say,  I  stood  there  and  looked  at  her, 
and  my  knees  trembled,  and  I  wished  over  again 
what  I  thought  had  been  Kay's  dreadful  wish 
upstairs. 

"  Very  well  then,"  said  Grandmother.  I  could 
see  she  had  our  punishment  all  prepared.  "  I 
realize  that  if  you  had  any  respect  for  me,  you 
wouldn't  refuse  me  your  confidence." 

Marcia  gave  a  cry.  It  was  a  queer  yell,  and  it 
startled  me. 

"  No,  Gramma,"  she  said,  "no,  don't  you  say 
that.  You  don't  understand.  It's  because  we 
can't.     'Tisn't  because  we  won't." 

Uncle  Terry  gave  a  little  cough,  and  I  believe  it 
reminded  Grandma  that,  however  we  worked  on 
her  feelings,  she  was  to  be  firm. 

"  No,"  she  said,  "  I  haven't  taken  the  right  way 


104  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

of  teaching  you  to  be  good  children.  So  I  am 
going  to  give  it  up." 

"  Give  it  up  ?  "  Kay  gasped. 

The  three  advanced  a  step,  with  faces  of  absolute 
horror,  and  I,  having  no  right  to  thrust  myself  on 
her,  stayed  where  I  was. 

"  Gramma*,"  said  Ruth,  "  what  are  you  going  to 
do  ?  " 

Grandma  sat  silent  a  moment  looking  at  us, 
considering,  I  knew,  as  she  always  did,  what  was 
the  very  kindest  thing  to  do.  Marcia  and  Kay 
always  had  remedies  when  things  went  wrong. 
Marcia  had  one  now. 

"You  punish  us,  Gramma,"  she  besought. 
"You  do  anything  you  like  to  us.  Starve  us, 
or  send  us  to  bed  —  or  make  us  practise  —  or  sew. 
It's  just  this  one  thing  we  can't  do.  We  can't  tell. 
Don't  you  see,  Gramma,  how  'tis  ?  " 

Even  then  Grandma  might  have  owned  she  saw. 
That  she  did  see,  we  believed.  But  there  was 
Uncle  Terry  in  the  background,  waiting  for  her 
to  be  just,  and  we  knew  she  had  given  her  word. 
Besides,  he  was  the  children's  uncle  and  she  was 
"  no  relation  ". 

"  I  have  decided,"  she  said,  "  to  send  for  your 
other  Grandma." 


The  Tribal  Oath  105 

"  Crandma ! "  they  cried  together,  and  then 
Marcia  took  another  step  forward,  and  really  began 
to  beg. 

"  O  Gramma,  no  !  Don't  you  do  that !  Why, 
do  you  s'pose  she  could  do  anything  you  couldn't  ? 
Do  you  s'pose  we'd  tell  her  anything  we  wouldn't 
tell  you  ?  O  Gramma,  we  couldn't  do  anything  to 
deserve  a  thing  like  that." 

I  couldn't  help  seeing  that  a  little  flicker  of  a 
smile  came  into  Uncle  Terry's  face ;  but  Grandma 
rose  from  her  chair  with  a  fine  dignity  and  said:  — 

"  That  will  do.  I  am  not  pleased  when  you  say 
such  things  about  your  other  Grandma.  I  shall 
send  for  her.  Now  I  should  recommend  you  to 
go  upstairs  and  lie  down  and  make  up  your  sleep. 
I  don't  tell  you  to  do  it,  because  I  can't  be  sure  of 
your  doing  what  I  tell  you,  and  I  don't  think  it 
good  for  you  to  disobey.     I've  no  more  to  say." 

We  stood  there  a  moment,  looking  at  her  in 
misery.  Then  we  turned  about,  and  went  sag- 
gingly  up  the  stairs,  this  time  to  Ruth's  room 
because  it  was  farthest  away;  we  had  to  consult, 
and  the  grown-ups  mustn't  hear  us.  We  meant  to 
do  exactly  as  we  were  told,  though  how  we  could 
ever  sleep  again  we  didn't  know ;    but  we  felt  we 


106  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

must  talk  it  over  first  and  decide  whether  there  was 
anything  left  to  be  done.  The  strangest  thing  in 
the  world  had  happened,  the  one  thing  for  which 
we  were  not  prepared :  the  Grandmother  had  cast 
us  off. 

"  There's  Pete/'  said  Marcia,  in  a  dull  tone,  as 
he  came  scurrying  up  the  back  stairs  with  a  wild 
sound  of  toe-nails. 

"  Where  was  he  last  night  ?  "  I  asked,  drearily, 
not  because  I  cared,  but  because  it  was  a  little  easier 
to  live  if  we  said  something. 

"  I  tied  him  up  in  the  kitchen  before  I  called 
you,"  said  Marcia.  "  I  was  afraid  he'd  find  Ruth 
in  the  woods,  and  jump  at  her  and  scare  her." 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth,  meekly.  "I'm  afraid  of  his 
eyes  in  the  dark.  I  never  remember  they're  his 
eyes." 

Now  he  was  a  comfort,  splaying  all  over  us  and 
thrashing  his  tail  and  telling  us  we  were  the  nicest 
people  in  the  world.  Pete  hadn't  given  us  up. 
We  got  on  Ruth's  bed,  Pete  and  all.  He  wasn't 
allowed  on  beds  unless  we  spread  an  old  shawl  for 
him ;  but  it  was  a  curious  thing  about  us  that,  when 
we  were  trying  very  hard  to  be  good  in  one  di- 
rection, we  were  apt  to  forget  all  about  it  in  others. 


The  Tribal  Oath  107 


/ 


We  couldn't  seem  to  think  of  everything  at  once. 
So  to-day  we  didn't  remember  the  shawl.  There 
we  sat,  dull  with  misery,  Pete  the  only  carefree  one 
among  us :  for  now  that  he'd  got  Marcia  back,  he 
was  a  happy  dog.  Suddenly  we  seemed  to  think 
all  at  once  of  the  same  thing. 

"Where'd  you  go,  Ruth?"  Marcia  asked,  and 
Kay  echoed,  as  if  she,  too,  had  been  on  the  point 
of  it :  — 

"  Yes,  where'd  you  go  ?  " 

And  I  was  on  pins  to  know  where  she'd  been. 

"  Why,"  said  Ruth,  as  if  it  had  lost  all  interest 
for  her,  "  I  stayed  all  night  in  the  State  House." 

Marcia,  with  a  bounce,  came  bolt  upright  on  the 
bed. 

"My!"  she  said.  "You  did?  What  made 
you  think  of  that  ?  " 

"  I  went  down  to  Flutino's,  same  as  I  said  I 
would,"  Ruth  explained,  "but  I  didn't  go  in.  It 
was  darker'n  I  thought  'twould  be,  and  I  heard 
Flutino  singing,  so  I  knew  he  was  there." 

"  He'd  have  come  home  with  you,"  said  Kay. 

"  '  Course  he  would  ;  but  'twas  damp,  and  I  knew 
his  mother'd  worry  about  his  voice,  and  so  I  turned 
right  round  and  put  for  home.     Mr.  Tilden  —  " 


108  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  That's  the  janitor,  Laura/'  Kay  explained. 

"  He  was  coming,  'way  up  the  street.  He  had 
his  lantern,  and  I  knew  he  was  going  to  lock  up. 
So  I  squeezed  through  the  fence,  and  got  into  the 
State  House  before  he  did,  and  hid  behind  a  seat  in 
the  Senate  Chamber." 

We  had  forgotten  our  troubles,  for  the  moment, 
at  least.  It  seemed  a  glorious  adventure,  and  Ruth 
was  the  heroine  of  the  dismal  hour. 

"  Well,  weren't  you  grand ! "  said  Marcia. 
"What  d'  he  do?  just  lock  up  the  door  and 
go  away  ?  or  go  round  and  lock  all  the  inside 
doors  ? " 

"  Why,  he  went  round  hollerin',"  said  Ruth, 
warming  to  her  recital.  i€  He  came  up  the  stairs 
hollerin*  all  the  way.  c  Anybody  here  ?  anybody 
here  ? '  I  knew  'twas  Mr.  Tilden,  because  I'd  seen 
him ;  but  when  he  hollered  so,  I  crawled  right 
under  the  seat,  and  got  wedged  there  so't  I  almost 
couldn't  get  out." 

"  D'he  go  up  in  the  Zone  ?  "  asked  Marcia. 

"No,  I  guess  not.  It  didn't  sound  so  high  as 
that." 

"Then  what  d'  he  do  ?"  asked  Kay,  in  great  relish 
of  Ruth's  prowess  and  peril. 


The  Tribal  Oath 


109 


*  Why,  he  went  downstairs,  hollerin'  all  the  way\ 
and  then  I  heard  him  bang  the  big  door  and  lock 
it  and  shake  it.  And  I  crawled  out  and  went  up 
on  the  platform  and  sat  down  in  the  Speaker's 
chair,  and  'twas  awful  dark." 

"Well,"  said  I,  "what  d'  you  do  then?" 

"  I  sat  there,"  said  Ruth,  "just  as  long  as  I 
could  sit.  And  then  something  creaked,  as  if  there 
was  somebody  under  the  seats." 

"  O  my  soul ! "  said  I,  as  some  of  the  neighbors 
at  Sedgmoor  used  to  say  it.  "Was  there  any- 
body ? " 

"  'Course  there  wasn't,"  said  Kay,  who  was  a 
different  girl  in  the  daylight  from  the  one  we  had 
found  in  the  dusk  of  the  Plantation.  "What  d' 
you  do  then,  Ruth  ? " 

It  was  evident  that  Ruth  really  had  something 
valuable  now  to  tell.  If  there  was  anything  about 
her  adventure  to  be  proud  of,  this  was  it. 

"  I  got  up  on  the  platform,"  she  said,  "  and 
spoke  all  my  pieces,  just  as  loud  as  I  could : 
c  Horatius '  and  ■  Wake  and  Call  me  Early  ■  and  all 
of 'em." 

"That  must  have  been  dreadful,"  said  I,  in  an 
awed  admiration,  and  the  others  nodded. 


no  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  It  echoed/'  said  Ruth,  simply.  "  What  makes 
it  echo  in  the  night  and  not  in  the  day  ?  " 

We  couldn't  tell  her  why;  but  that  it  was  true  we 
could  readily  believe.  Everything,  we  had  learned, 
was  different  at  night.  There  was  another  thing  we 
wanted  to  know,  but  we  hardly  liked  to  ask  about 
it :  for  if  Ruth  hadn't  done  it,  it  was  almost  too 
bad  to  dim  her  triumph  by  making  her  say  so,  and 
if  she  had,  she'd  tell  us  of  her  own  accord.  She 
was  keeping  it,  and  presently  she  told  us. 

"When  I  thought  I'd  been  there  'most  all  night, 
the  clock  struck,  and  'twas  only  ten.  But  I 
couldn't  wait  any  longer,  and  I  went  up  in  the 
Zone." 

Marcia,  in  an  ecstasy  of  pride,  clasped  Pete  to 
her  breast.  He  had  been  sound  asleep,  and  she 
had  to  drag  him  up  to  do  it.  But  he  took  that  as 
a  gay  joke,  and  kicked  and  bit  and  did  something 
as  near  laughing  as  a  dog  can  do. 

"  Tell  about  it,"  said  Kay.  "  D'you  go  'way 
up  f 

"  Yes,"  said  Ruth.  We  were  all  remembering,  I 
am  sure,  how  she,  in  making  the  toilsome  ascent  by 
day,  would  never  look  down  because,  if  she  did,  she 
had  to  shut  her  eyes  tight  and,  when  she  reached 


The  Tribal  Oath  in 

the  platform,  sit  limply  on  the  floor.  "Yes.  It's 
awful  starry  up  there,"  she  burst  out,  as  if  the 
wonder  of  it  was  something  she  couldn't  really  tell. 
"  Why,  the  Dipper  —  it's  just  as  near  !  "  This  was 
the  crown  of  the  adventure.  She  couldn't  have 
done  more  than  go  into  the  Zone.  "  That's  all," 
said  she.  "  Then  I  came  down,  and  I  stayed  a 
little  while  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  and  then  I  went 
into  the  Reps'.  But  I  didn't  like  it  very  well,  and 
I  went  downstairs  and  sat  down  on  the  floor  close 
to  the  door.     'Twas  awful  cold." 

"  Did  Mr.  Tilden  see  you  when  he  unlocked  ?  " 
asked  Kay. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Ruth.  "I'd  gone  up  and  hid 
again.     There  don't  anybody  know  it  but  us." 

Somehow  that  was  not  so  great  a  comfort  as  we 
should  have  expected.  We  were  a  Tribe,  but  a 
tribe  driven  out  into  the  wilderness,  away  from 
Grandmother's  favor.  It  didn't  seem  quite  possi- 
ble to  get  along  without  Grandmother's  favor. 
Nobody   had    tried    it  yet. 

Marcia  had  let  Pete  quiet  down,  and  now  he 
lay  with  his  head  on  her  knee,  his  eyes  blink- 
ing, while  she  absently  braided  the  curls  of  his 
ears. 


112  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Well/'  said  she,  gloomily,  "  we're  in  a  pretty 
fix.     What  are  we  going  to  do  ? " 

Nobody  could  say. 

"  Til  tell  you,"  I  ventured,  coming  to  the  fore 
because  nobody  else  did,  "  let's  do  exactly  every- 
thing she  tells  us." 

"  Grandma  ?  "  said  Kay.  "  Why,  we  do.  That 
won't  be  anything  new.  We  cant  break  our  words, 
but  we  can  do  everything  else." 

"  I  mean  other  things,"  said  I.  "  She  said  to  go 
to  sleep,  and  here  we  are  talking.  If  we  do  it,  just 
exactly  everything  she  says,  maybe  she'll  believe 
we're  going  to  keep  on." 

"  I  can  go  to  sleep  all  right,"  said  Kay.  She 
gave  a  big  yawn,  and  we  caught  it  of  her. 

"  You  know,"  said  Ruth,  timidly,  because  she  did 
mean  to  be  game,  and  also  she  needed  dreadfully  to 
be  taken  back  into  the  Grandmother's  heart,  "  if  ■ 
you  want  to  tell  —  about  last  night,  you  know  — 
I'd  just  as  soon." 

Marcia  looked  at  her  in  despair.  It  seemed  as  if 
nobody  but  Kay  and  herself  understood  the  Tribal 
code  of  honor. 

"  Why,  it  isn't  what  we  want,"  she  said. 
cc  We'd  just  as  soon  tell,  too.      But  we  can't.     We 


The  Tribal  Oath  113 

made  our  blood  pledge.  We  made  the  yell,  too. 
How  are  we  going  to  yell,  if  we've  broken  every- 
thing we  said  in  it  ?  " 

"  Let's  yell  it,"  said  Ruth.  I  think  she  wanted 
to  keep  her  courage  up. 

Marcia  began,  in  a  low,  deep  tone,  and  we  joined 
her.  It  was  very  solemn.  I  felt  the  seriousness  of 
it  down  to  my  boots. 

"Yell-O!  yell-O!  yell  \ 
We  won't  tell  ! 
Shut  us  in  a  cell  ! 
Drown  us  in  a  well  ! 
Remember  ruddy  jell ! 
We  won't  tell  ! 
Yell-O  !  yell-O  !  yell  !  *' 

The  solemnity  of  it  soothed  us.  Whatever  suf- 
fering we  had  caused  the  Grandmother,  whatever 
misery  we  were  enduring  now,  we  felt  we  were 
right.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  keep  our 
oath.  We  curled  up  on  the  bed  and  went  to  sleep, 
really  because  we  couldn't  help  it,  but  virtuously 
remembering  Grandma  had  suggested  it. 


CHAPTER   VII 

MAJOR 

WE  were  in  deep  disgrace,  and  there  we 
stuck.  It  was  all  the  more  dreadful 
because  everybody  treated  us  with  an 
outward  kindliness.  The  Grandmother  was  just 
as  gentle,  Uncle  Terry  bade  us  "  Good  morning  " 
with  a  bluff  courtesy,  and  Mary  put  on  our  favorite 
jams  at  breakfast.  Best  of  all,  she  set  them  at  our 
end  of  the  table.  But  it  was  all  different.  Every- 
thing, even  our  miserable  consciences,  seemed  to  be 
saying :  — 

"You've  treated  the  Grandmother  shockingly. 
She's  asked  you  to  tell  her  something,  and  you've 
told  her  you  wouldn't." 

The  Grandmother  didn't  ask  us  to  do  things  any 
more.  She  didn't  even  suggest  that  we  wear  mit- 
tens or  our  thicker  coats.  We  had  the  desolate 
feeling  of  the  banished.  As  for  the  State  House, 
with  its  silver  knobs  and  splendid  freedom,  we 
couldn't  step  a  foot  into  it.     There  Ruth  had  spent 

114 


Major  115 

"  That  Night  "3  as  we  began  to  call  it,  and  we  almost 
felt  it  had  been  to  blame  for  luring  her  in,  with  its 
dark  and  hidey-holes.  We  knew  we  could  never 
enter  it  again.  One  day  we  got  so  miserable  that 
we  were  even  cross  to  one  another,  and  then  it  did 
seem  as  if  the  bottom  had  dropped  out  of  every- 
thing. If  we  weren't  going  to  hang  together,  what 
hope  was  there  anywhere  ?  As  for  me,  I  never  saw 
the  Grandmother  sit  down  at  her  orderly  desk, 
where  bills  and  letters  and  diaries  lived  in  neat  little 
houses  of  pigeonholes,  without  wondering  if  she 
could  be  going  to  write  Aunt  Tabitha  about  That 
Night,  and  if  Aunt  Tabitha  would  give  up  singing 
and  come  home.  That  day,  the  fifth,  I  think  it 
was,  from  That  Night,  Marcia  appeared  before  me 
as  I  lay  in  a  corner  of  the  sofa  reading  a  bound  vol- 
ume of  Toung  Folks  and  watching  the  Grandma  at 
her  desk  and  wishing  she  would  speak  to  me,  and 
said  desperately,  as  if  she'd  suffered  all  she  could, 
and  must  find  relief  somewhere  :  — 

"  Let's  go  down  to  Flutino's  and  play  in  the 
barn." 

I  shut  my  book  and  put  it  carefully  in  its  place 
on  the  shelf,  wishing  now  the  Grandmother  would 
notice  and  see  how  good  a  girl  I  meant  to  be.     She 


n6  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

didn't ;  but:  as  we  left  the  room  she  called,  as  if  she 
were  thinking  about  her  writing,  too  :  — 

"  You'd  better  wear  your  waterproofs.  It's  going 
to  rain." 

When  we  got  out  into  the  hall,  Marcia  clutched  me, 
and  we  danced  a  noiseless  dance.  It  was  astonishing 
to  remember  how  still  we  had  been  through  those 
dark  days.  We  hadn't  supposed  it  was  possible  to 
go  about  the  house  on  tiptoe.  If  you  were  in  a 
hurry,  you  had  to  slam  and  bang.  But  since  the 
Grandmother  had  cast  us  off,  we  had  walked  like 
little  ghosts.     And  now  the  spell  was  broken. 

"  She's  told  us  to  do  something !  She's  told  us 
to  do  something !  "  Marcia  chanted,  when  we  got 
out  on  the  front  steps  and  Kay  and  Ruth  had  been 
dog's-nosed  in  the  kitchen,  where  they  were  picking 
burrs  out  of  Pete's  ears.  "  She  told  us  to  wear  our 
waterproofs,  Kay.     It's  over!  it's  over!  it's  over!" 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  I,  who  had  been  watching 
the  Grandmother,  when  she  told  us.  "  Maybe  she 
was  thinking  about  what  she  was  writing,  and  forgot 
for  a  minute." 

"  O  Joe  Pye  Weed ! "  said  Marcia.  It  was 
the  only  name  in  the  botany  that  pleased  her,  and 
she  had  taken  it  for  use  on  occasions  where  com- 


Major  119 

mon  English  wouldn't  do.  "  I  tell  you  she's  got 
over  it.  Grandma  couldn't  stay  mad  !  If  'twas 
Crandma ! " 

We  were  glad  to  think  it,  and  we  took  hands 
and  ran  dowh  the  River  Road.  It  seemed  as- 
tonishingly natural  to  be  running  again.  Flutino 
was  at  home,  his  pretty  mother  said.  She  was 
slender  and  old-fashioned  and  wore  a  white  fichu 
and  a  locket.  To  me,  she  seemed  almost  as  old 
as  the  Grandmother,  but  I  know  now  she  wasn't 
old  at  all.  She  put  a  hand  on  my  shoulder,  and 
left  it  there  while  she  talked.  I  knew  she  didn't 
mean  to  make  me  shy  by  singling  me  out  as  if 
we  hadn't  met  before ;  but  when  she  took  the 
hand  away,  she  said:  — 

"You  must  give  my  love  to  Aunt  Tabitha, 
when  you  write." 

Then  we  went  along  the  gravelled  path  to  the 
gray  shingled  stable  which  was  always  called  the 
barn,  and  we  heard  Flutino  whistling  loudly  a 
merry  air.  The  world  began  to  look  like:  itself 
again.  Grandma  might  actually  take  us  back,  and 
here  was  Flutino,  whistling. 

"  Hullo  ! "  said  he,  "  I  was  just  coming  up, 
if  you  hadn't  come  down." 


n8  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

He  didn't  look  as  if  he  were  going  anywhere* 
He  was  too  busy.  Major,  the  small  white  horse 
Flutino's  mother  drove  in  a  phaeton  which  I 
admired  greatly  from  the  fringe  about  the  can- 
opied top,  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  not 
hitched  to  anything,  and  Flutino  was  currying  his 
shoulders. 

"  Look  here,"  said  Flutino.  He  began  in  a 
special  place  up  near  the  neck,  and  Major  instantly 
put  down  his  head  and  kept  time  to  the  currying, 
nodding  his  head  and  quivering  all  over.  "  He 
always  does  it  when  you  do  that  place,"  said 
Flutino.  "That's  what  I  do  it  for.  Eph  says 
if  Major'd  squirm  all  over,  he  could  get  all  the 
currying  out  of  me." 

Eph  was  the  sandy-haired  man  in  overalls  always 
worn  to  a  lovely  light  blue,  and  such  splendid 
high  rubber  boots  that  I  felt  my  throat  choke  when 
I  saw  them,  they  were  so  like  the  boots  of  the 
clammers  at  Sedgmoor.  While  we  were  talking, 
Kay,  by  some  system  known  only  to  herself, 
squirmed  up  Major  to  his  back,  and  there  she 
sat  in  perfect  ease,  he  offering  no  objection  either 
to  the  squirming  or  the  after  possession.  But 
when  we  had  told  Flutino  we  thought  things  were 


Major  119 

all  right  at  home  now,  and  he  had  agreed  that  it 
had  been  an  awful  state  of  things,  but  of  course 
we  couldn't  tell,  Marcia's  eyes  began  roving  about 
the  barn  in  search  of  adventure.  She  had  been 
so  good  through  these  days  of  grief  that  it  was 
evident  she  had  got  to  do  something  of  a  different 
sort.  Flutino  followed  her  glance,  and  he  under- 
stood. He  was  the  host,  and  it  belonged  to  him 
to  find  the  games.  He,  too,  looked  about  the 
barn,  the  orderly,  clean  place,  with  lovely  brown 
shadows  in  it,  and  dim  windows,  not  cobwebby 
but  yet  not  like  shiny  house  windows,  and  all  smell- 
ing of  hay. 

"  What  let's  do  ?  "  he  asked. 

Kay  slipped  down  Major's  side,  having  enjoyed 
that  elevation  long  enough,  and  Marcia  said,  in 
sudden  rapture :  — 

"  D'you  s'pose  we  could  get  Major  up  those 
stairs  ? " 

She  pointed  to  the  short  flight  of  stairs  at  the 
end  of  the  barn ;  firm,  broad,  solid  stairs  they 
seemed,  with  the  barn  wall  on  one  side,  but  no 
railing  at  the  other. 

Flutino  took  fire. 

"  I  guess  so,"  said  he.     "  Try  it,  anyway.     He 


120  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

went  up  three  steps,  that  day,  into  the  shed,  after 
the  apples." 

Kay  was  ready  with  her  sturdy  sense. 

t€  The  floor's  good  and  strong  when  you  get 
up  there,"  said  she. 

"'Course  it  is,"  returned  Flutino.  "  Don't  you 
know  how  we've  played  c  King's  Land '  up  there, 
and  run  like  smoke  ?     Come  on." 

He  took  the  halter,  and  led  the  willing  Major 
to  the  stairs. 

In  my  acquaintance  with  Major,  then  and  after, 
I  never  saw  any  reason  to  doubt  that  he  had  made 
up  his  mind,  once  for  all,  to  his  job  in  life.  He 
would  take  Mrs.  Gray  out  in  the  phaeton,  and 
go  as  prettily  as  a  horse  need,  though  he  did  insist 
on  stopping  sometimes  in  a  country  road  and 
nipping  twigs.  But  his  real  occupation  was  to  do 
what  Flutino  and  Kay  and  Marcia  chose  to  expect 
of  him.  He  had  been  taught  astonishing  tricks. 
He  could  be  pushed  and  pulled  with  the  utmost 
freedom,  and  where  you  left  him,  there  he  would 
stay  until  you  came  for  him. 

"I  think  Pete  had  better  be  shut  up,  don't 
you  ?  "  said  Kay.  "  He'll  get  under  our  feet  and 
trip  us." 


Major  121 

"  No,"  said  Marcia,  "  let  him  be.  He  wants  the 
fun  of  it." 

Flutino  led  Major  to  the  stairs.  Then  he  went 
on  coaxing  him  up,  with  a  low  murmur  of  talk 
and  a  lump  of  sugar  temptingly  displayed.  And 
Major  followed.  Ruth  and  I  stood  in  delighted 
silence,  holding  Pete  between  us.  Pete  had  never 
seen  such  a  sight  before.  He  strained  into  his 
collar,  and  his  eyes  turned  green.  It  took  a  long 
time  to  get  Major  up  the  stairs,  a  long,  long  time. 
But  when  he  was  up  there,  standing  at  the  head 
and  accepting  the  rewarding  sugar  lump,  he  seemed 
as  mildly  contented  as  he  had  below.  As  for  us, 
we  were  overjoyed.  What  we  wanted  to  get  him 
up  there  for,  not  one  of  us  knew.  What  we  were 
going  to  do  with  him  now  he  was  there,  we  couldn't 
have  told.  But  it  had  seemed  the  most  absolutely 
desirable  thing  in  the  world  to  do,  and  now  that  it 
was  accomplished,  the  triumph  was  superb.  We 
stood  about  him  as  if  he  also  had  done  something 
heroic,  and  Pete  panted  and  strained  again  at  his 
collar,  and  stood  on  his  hind  legs,  trying  to  get 
somewhere,  he  didn't  know  where.  And  at  this 
moment,  when  we  felt  the  world  had  little  more  to 
offer,  a  decisive  step  struck  the  barn  floor  below. 


122  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

It  was  Eph,  and  we  realized  that  he  was  the  first 
person  to  whom  we'd  got  to  account. 

"  Til  go,"  said  Flutino. 

He  clattered  down  the  stairs,  and  we  after  him. 
Pete  nearly  upset  Marcia  and  got  thrown  himself 
and  landed  sprawling.  Eph  had  a  kerosene  can  in 
his  hand.  He  was  hoping  to  burn  the  brush  heap 
before  the  rain.  He  greeted  Flutino  in  a  voice  of 
simple  wonderment. 

"  Where's  the  hoss?  Your  mother  gone  out 
with  him  ?     D'you  harness  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Flutino,  swaggering  to  the  door 
and  feeling  for  a  drop  of  rain.  "  I  haven't  har- 
nessed." 

Eph  turned  about,  still  puzzled,  and  looked  for 
the  phaeton.  There  it  was,  lately  washed  and  shin- 
ing. And  at  that  instant,  Major,  having  no  doubt 
finished  his  sugar  and  uncertain  of  the  purpose  for 
which  his  friends  had  convoyed  him  there,  began  to 
walk  about  upstairs.  Eph  looked  at  the  stairs,  at 
the  ceiling,  at  us.  What  our  faces  told,  I  cannot 
say.  He  set  down  his  oil  can  and  plunged  up  the 
stairs,  and  immediately  we  heard  remarks  —  to  him- 
self, to  Major,  perhaps  to  us.  But  the  words  we 
did  not  catch.     He  appeared  at  the  head  of  the 


Major  123 

stairs.  I  could  see  the  feet  of  his  beautiful  rubber 
boots.  Perhaps  it  was  as  well  that  his  face  we 
could  not  see.  Now  he  spoke,  and  I  knew  he  was 
raging  "  mad  ". 

"  You  go  over  an'  find  Henry  Kinsman,  some 
o'  you,"  he  commanded,  "  an'  tell  him  to  come 
over  here  an'  get  this  hoss  down  these  stairs." 

Flutino  walked  back  to  the  stair  foot. 

"  Oh,  come,  Eph,"  he  said.  "  You  don't  want 
Henry  Kinsman.  We  got  him  up,  and  we  can  get 
him  down." 

"  You  do  what  I  tell  ye,"  said  Eph.  "  I  wouldn't 
have  that  hoss's  leg  broke  for  a  hunderd  dollars." 

Nor  would  we. 

"Ruth'll  go,"  said  Flutino,  cheerfully.  "You 
go,  Ruthie.  Eph,  why  don't  you  get  that  tackle 
and  falls  out  of  the  shed  chamber,  and  see  if  you 
can't  rig  something." 

Eph  came  down  the  stairs.  His  face  was  flushed 
and  all  tied  up  into  knots.  I  don't  believe  he  was 
angry  with  us.  He  had  accepted  us,  once  for  all, 
as  being  perfectly  unaccountable  trials,  and  he  was 
glad,  with  every  passing  day,  that  things  had  been 
no  worse. 

"  I  don't  know  but  I  could  stretch  a  rope  down 


124  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

that  open  end  o'  the  stairs/'  said  he.  "  Keep  him 
from  pitchin'  one  side." 

He  hurried  out  of  the  barn,  and  we  waited  until 
his  first  step  sounded  on  the  gravel. 

"  Come,"  said  Flutino,  and  we  came.  He  went 
first,  Marcia  stayed  on  the  stairs.  Kay  was  behind 
her.  I  held  Pete  below.  Then  Major,  who  was 
mildly  nuzzling  for  more  sugar,  consented,  without 
the  slightest  objection,  to  back  toward  the  gulf  of 
the  staircase,  and  when  Marcia  and  Kay  received 
his  hind  hoofs  they  set  them,  one  by  one,  upon 
the  stairs  and  in  high  excitement,  in  which  he 
didn't  share,  they  walked  him  down.  Flutino 
stayed  not  an  instant  to  exult,  but  led  him  into 
his  stall,  closed  the  door  upon  him,  and  strolled  out 
of  the  barn,  hands  in  his  pockets,  whistling.  One 
way  came  Eph  with  a  coil  of  heavy  rope,  and  the 
other  Henry  Kinsman,  Ruth  trotting  behind,  pink 
from  hurrying. 

"  You  won't  need  that,"  said  Flutino,  in  a  bluff 
way,  to  Eph.  "  He's  come  down.  But  you'd 
better  keep  it  in  the  barn,  in  case  he  goes  up 
again." 

"  Come  down ! "  Eph  repeated,  as  if  he  were 
dazed,  and  he  dropped  the  rope  and  ran  upstairs. 


Major  125 

There  we  left  him  and  went  out  into  the 
River  Road,  firmly  convinced  that  we  knew  how 
to  tackle  difficult  jobs  and  come  out  of  them 
magnificently.  Flutino's  mother  was  calling  from 
the  window,  smiling  at  us  all  and  seeming  to  tell 
us  she  was  very  sorry  to  part  such  good  com- 
pany. 

"Time  to  practise,"  she  said,  and  Flutino  took 
off  his  cap  to  her  and  waited  only  for  a  word  with 
us  before  he  went. 

As  we  walked  along  we  felt  the  slightest  possible 
doubt  whether  getting  Major  up  the  stairs  was  a 
praiseworthy  deed.  But  it  didn't  really  matter. 
It  was  Flutino's  barn,  and  his  mother  would  settle 
with  him,  and  she  was  never  really  stern :  only 
with  a  tendency  to  be,  like  Grandma,  a  little  hurt. 

"  Anyway,"  said  Marcia,  "  Grandma's  taken  us 
back.  Uncle  Terry'll  come  round  in  a  week  or  so, 
and  then  we'll  be  as  good  as  new." 

So  we  began  singing  the  song  about  the  "  Frog 
and  the  Mouse",  and  I  joined  timidly  and  was  very 
happy. 

But  just  as  we  got  in  sight  of  the  sitting 
room  window,  where  we  always  expected  to  see 
Grandma  waiting  for  us,  Kay  stopped  short. 


126  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Look/'  she  said.     "  Look  there  ! " 

We  did  look,  and  I  saw  a  tall,  stout  lady  with 
black  hair  and  red  cheeks ;  she  was  returning  our 
gaze  with  an  unmoved  expression. 

"  Callers  ?  "  I  said,  in  my  ignorance. 

"  Callers  !  "  Marcia  repeated.  "I  wish  'twas  all 
the  callers  in  town.  Don't  you  know  who  that 
is  ? " 

"  No,"  said  I. 

"  Why,"  said  Ruth,  as  if  she  were  really  so 
amazed  she  could  do  nothing  but  stand  still  on 
the  pavement  and  return  the  large  lady's  stare, 
"  Grandma  wrote  to  her  just  as  she  said  she 
would.  D'you  ever  know  anything  so  awful  in 
your  life  ? " 

Just  then  the  large  lady,  seeing  us  becalmed  there 
and  unable  to  get  either  one  way  or  another, 
drummed  on  the  window  in  a  very  topping  manner, 
and  we  started  up  our  weak  legs  and  went  on. 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  I  insisted,  and  Kay  replied,  with 
bitterness  :  — 

"  Why,  it's  Crandma.  Grandma's  sent  for  her, 
and  here  she  is." 

So  this  was  she.     This  was  Cross  Grandma. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

CRANDMA 

CROSS  Grandma  had  rapped  again  on  the 
window  and  signalled  us  to  come  in.  Some 
diamonds  on  her  fingers  sparkled  in  the 
sun,  and  a  bracelet,  down  below  the  lace  of  her 
sleeves,  caught  the  light  and  glittered.  Crandma 
had  white  knuckly  hands,  and  many  old-fashioned 
rings.  I  was  fond  of  jewellery  and  had  never  owned 
even  a  tiny  pin,  and  the  brilliance  of  the  stones 
awed  me  so  that  I  went  in  to  meet  her  in  a  reveren- 
tial frame  of  mind.  No  sooner  had  we  opened  the 
hall  door  than  she  called  to  us  :  — 
"  Children,  come  here." 

She  had  a  very  masterful  voice.  I  should  never, 
I  was  sure,  dare  do  anything  contrary  to  what  she 
ordered.  I  gave  one  glance  at  her,  as  we  advanced, 
and  I  was  still  more  impressed.  She  was,  as  I  have 
said,  a  tall  lady,  dressed  in  tight  black  satin  that 
shone  and  made  her  look  like  a  hard  figure  polished 
to  the  last  degree.     I   thought  of  Mary's  kitchen 

127 


128  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

stove  when  she  had  blacked  it  beautifully,  and  then, 
so  powerful  did  Crandma  seem  to  me,  that  I 
wondered  whether  she  could  read  my  thought. 
She  was  adorned  with  jetty,  dangling  things,  and  a 
long  gold  chain  came  from  a  pin  at  her  collar  and 
ended  at  her  waist.  They  used  to  wear  them  so, 
years  ago,  I  knew.  There  was  a  picture  of  Aunt 
Tabitha's  mother  with  just  such  a  chain.  All  this 
I  saw  as  I  walked  up  to  her ;  but  at  first  I  didn't 
venture  even  one  timid  glance  at  her  face. 

cc  Well,  children  !  "  said  she. 

We  stopped.  The  voice  sounded  as  if  we  were 
to  account  for  ourselves.  It  almost  seemed  as  if  it 
might  go  on,  "  What  have  you  been  doing  now  ? " 
and  we  should  have  to  answer  in  concert :  — 

"We  got  Major  up  the  barn  stairs  and  got  him 
down  again/' 

But  the  next  word  was  to  me. 

"  Laura,"  said  Crandma,  "  look  up  here.  Let 
me  see  whose  eyes  you've  got.  Don't  be  so  bash- 
ful, child." 

I  did  look  up  hastily,  and  this  was  what  I  saw : 
a  fresh-colored,  handsome  face,  blue  eyes  that 
looked  straight  at  me,  and  a  shiny  forehead. 
Crandma   had   fine   hair  with  a  little   wave,  and  it 


"  '  Laura,'"    said  Grandma,    <  look  up  here.     Let  me  see  whose 
eyes  you've  got.'  " 


Crandma  129 

was  done  in  a  fashion  I  had  seen  in  the  old  maga- 
zines in  the  Sedgmoor  garret :  a  row  of  curls  at 
each  side,  kept  in  place  by  a  comb,  and  a  knot 
behind  also  held  by  a  taller  comb  with  balls  on  it. 
Crandma  had  begun  by  doing  her  hair  that  way 
when  she  first  did  it  up,  I  once  heard  her  remark. 
It  was  the  way  her  mother  had  done  hers.  And 
she  had  seen  no  reason  for  changing  it. 

"  Well,  Laura,"  she  repeated,  "  so  you've  come 
to  stay  while  Aunt  Tabitha's  abroad." 

"  Yes'm,"  I  answered  faintly. 

"You've  grown,  all  of  you,"  said  Crandma,  then, 
and  I  was  relieved  to  find  my  turn  had  passed. 
"  Amelia,  what  makes  you  let  Ruth  wear  that  ring  ? 
Rings  aren't  suitable  for  children.  Ruth,  I  should 
advise  you  to  take  it  off  and  put  it  in  your  bureau 
drawer,  and  keep  it  nice." 

I  hadn't  known  who  Amelia  was  ;  but  now  I  saw 
it  must  be  the  Grandmother,  who  sat  by  another 
window,  looking  tired  and  sad.  I  suddenly  realized 
it  was  as  dreadful  for  her  to  summon  Crandma  here 
as  it  was  for  us  to  have  her,  and  she  was  finding  it 
even  more  terrible  than  she  had  expected.  But  she 
had  begun  to  distrust  her  own  manner  of  treating 
us,  and  she  had  seen  no  way  but  to  call  in  some- 


ijo  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

body  who  did  things  differently.  Perhaps  Uncle 
Terry  had  urged  her  to  it.  He  was  fond  of  us,  but 
he  was  always  thinking  we  were  wearing  Grandma 
out.  Ruth  had  glanced  down  at  her  little  ring,  and 
now  she  looked  frightened,  and  clasped  her  hand 
tight  and  put  it  behind  her  back.  We  all  knew 
that  ring.  It  made  one  of  our  jokes.  Grandma 
had  given  it  to  her  because  Ruth  dearly  loved 
ornaments,  and  its  little  blue  stones  had  pleased  her 
so  that  she  could  scarcely  sleep  for  looking  at  them. 
It  was  always  on  her  finger  and  never  out  of  her 
mind.  If  she  wanted  to  remember  anything,  she'd 
say  with  importance,  "  Let  me  change  my  ring." 
If  we  were  going  to  do  any  hard  feat,  like  climbing 
a  rope,  she  would  pause  to  murmur, "  Let  me  see  'f 
my  ring's  turned  round."  Ruth  without  her  ring 
would  have  been  a  little  personage  we  hardly  knew. 

"  Take  your  things  off,  children,"  said  Grandma, 
in  her  gentle  voice.  I  thought  she  was  glad  to 
change  the  subject. 

"  Come  right  back  here  when  you've  done  it," 
said  Crandma.  "  Amelia,"  she  went  on,  as  we  left 
the  room,  "  I  think  I'd  better  manage  this  myself. 
You've  done  what  you  'can  and  failed.  Suppose 
you  leave  it  in  my  hands  now." 


Crandma  131 

Grandma  rose  and  crossed  the  hall  to  the  dining 
room.  Her  girlish  figure  drooped  miserably,  and 
we  knew  perfectly  well  how  unhappy  she  was.  I 
am  sure  Marcia  and  Kay  were  as  wretched  as  I  was, 
but  Ruth  only  had  the  sense  to  know  what  to  do. 
She  ran  after  her  and  threw  her  arms  about  her 
waist  and  hugged  hard.  Grandma  stooped  and 
kissed  her,  and  I  saw  there  were  tears  on  her  soft 
pink  cheeks. 

"Run  along,  dear/'  said  she.  "Go  in  to 
Grandma  Livingston." 

Then  she  sat  down  in  the  dining  room  because,  I 
believe,  she  did  want  to  hear  our  examination.  She 
couldn't  bear  to  go  wholly  away,  lest  we  might  need 
her.  And  we  all,  in  a  high  state  of  dread,  went  in 
to  Crandma.  Even  then  we  didn't  think  we  were 
to  blame,  for  weren't  we  doing  exactly  right?  It 
was  because  we  were  honorable  and  brave  that  all 
this  misfortune  had  come  about.  Crandma  had 
arrived  like  an  avenging  spirit.  Grandma  was 
crying,  and  there  was  no  peace  for  us  anywhere, 
even  if  we  had  found  we  could  get  a  horse  up  a 
flight  of  stairs  and  down  again.  It  was  a  very  re- 
bellious little  group  that  confronted  Crandma.  She 
was  seated  now,  bolt  upright,  in  the  only  stiflf  chair 


132  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

in  the  room.  My  heart  sank  as  I  looked  at  her. 
I  knew  we  could  never  "  down  her  ",  as  Eph  used  to 
say  about  his  wife,  who  took  all  his  wages  and 
clothed  him  as  she  saw  fit.  She  was  perpetually 
"  downing "  him.  Yet  Eph  loved  her  and  was 
proud  of  her  spirit,  and  we  didn't  love  Crandma  and 
her  polished  surfaces.  We  couldn't,  any  more 
than  we  could  love  the  stove,  though  that,  at  least, 
was  sometimes  warm.  I  think  one  thing  that 
terrified  us  about  Crandma  was  her  way  of  seeming 
equal  to  everything.  She  never  had  a  headache, 
she  said.  She  never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  afraid. 
And  if  Grandma  had  to  have  the  smelling  salts, 
we  loved  her  very  particularly,  and  when  she  got 
white  in  a  thunder  shower,  as  I  saw  her  the  next 
summer,  we  thought  it  very  attractive  and  just  as 
Grandma  ought  to  feel. 

Crandma  had  made  up  her  mind  to  be  wise  with 
us  and  kind. 

"Now,  children,"  said  she,  "I  hear  you  have 
been  very  disobedient  and  very  naughty." 

There  was  a  little  sound  from  Grandma  in  the 
dining  room.  I  thought  she  would  find  it  difficult 
to  hear  us  put  down  that  way,  in  "  so  many 
words  ". 


Crandma  133 

"  I  hear/'  said  Crandma,  "  that  Ruth  ran  off  and 
stayed  all  night,  and  that  she  refused  to  tell  where 
she  went.  I  hear  the  rest  of  you  were  out  half 
the  night,  and  that  you  refuse  to  tell  where  you 
were/' 

We  looked  at  her  in  stolid  silence.  It  seemed  to 
be  a  part  of  our  trial  to  look  and  show  that,  at 
least,  we  dared,  as  I  once  heard  her  say,  to  "meet 
her  eye  ".  As  for  me,  I  was  so  spellbound  by  the 
horror    of  it   all    that    I    could    not   look    away. 

"  Now,  Ruth,"  said  she,  in  a  tone  of  really  warm 
encouragement,  "I  want  you  to  tell  me  all  about 
it." 

Ruth  stood  immovable.  I  was  perfectly  sure  she 
was  still  meeting  Crandma' s  eye,  though  how 
Crandma  could  do  her  part  of  it  and  meet  all  our 
eyes  I  couldn't  see.  But  Ruth  didn't  say  a  word. 
Crandma  had  perhaps  expected  this  as  a  starter,  for 
she  continued  to  be  patient. 

"  Ruth,"  said  she,  "  where  did  you  go  ? " 

Now  Ruth  spoke,  and  her  words  came  all  in  a 
heap  and  tumble. 

"  I  can't  tell  you,  Crandma."  (We  had  made 
it  a  point  of  honor  to  say  "  Crandma "  to  her 
face    if    we    said    it    "  behind    her    back ".)      "  I 


134  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

wouldn't  tell  Grandma  because  I  couldn't,  and 
'course  I  wouldn't  tell  anybody  if  I  wouldn't  tell 
her.  I  don't  want  not  to  tell,  Crandma.  I'd  a 
great  deal  rather  tell.  But  I  can't.  I  promised. 
We  all  promised.     That's  why  we  can't. " 

"  Whom  did  you  promise  ? "  asked  Crandma, 
very  kindly. 

"  I  can't  tell  that,  either,"  said  Ruth,  miserably. 
"We  promised  that,  too." 

"A  bad  promise,"  said  Crandma,  with  a  majes- 
tic air  of  being  in  a  pulpit,  "is  better  broken 
than  kept." 

Then  Kay  spoke,  in  a  hoarse  voice  I  hardly 
recognized. 

"  It  isn't  a  bad  promise.     It's  a  good  one." 

"That  will  do,  Katherine,"  said  Crandma. 
"  Ruth,  are  you  going  to  tell  me  ? " 

"  I  can't,  Crandma,"  said  Ruth,  in  a  voice  still 
lower.     "  I'm  awful  sorry,  but  I  can't." 

"  You're  not  awful  sorry,"  said  Crandma. 
"You're  very  sorry.  And  if  you  were  going  to 
use  the  other  word,  it  would  be  awfully,  not 
awful.  An  adverb  is  needed  to  qualify  a  verb. 
An  adjective  belongs  to  a  noun." 

Ruth    looked   up    at    her   in    a    timid    gratitude 


Crandma  135 

that  might  have  softened  any  heart.  "  I'll  do 
anything  you  please  about  adverbs,"  the  look 
seemed  to  say,  "  if  you  will  tell  me  what  adverbs 
are,  and  if  you'll  please  not  talk  about  the  other 
thing."  But  Crandma  had  only  begun  to  talk 
about  it. 

"  Marcia,"  said  she,  "  do  you  know  where 
Ruth  was  that  night  ? " 

"Yes'm,"  said  Marcia,  and,  as  it  had  been 
before,  her  voice,  from  excess  of  feeling,  sounded 
cold  and  hard. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Crandma,  "  tell  me  at  once 
where  it  was." 

"  I  can't,"  said  Marcia. 

"  Why  can't  you  ? "  asked  Crandma,  sharply. 

"  It's  the  same  reason  that  Ruth  can't,"  said 
Marcia,  and  now  she  was  so  desperate  that  she 
sounded  very  hateful  indeed.  "We  can't  any 
of  us  tell.     We  promised." 

"  Katherine,"  said  Crandma,  "  will  you  tell  me 
where  you  were  that  night?" 

"No'm,"  said  Kay,  boldly.     "I  can't." 

Desperation  had  given  her  manner,  too,  its 
worst  complexion.  Then  Crandma  turned  to  me, 
and   as   I   was    small    and    perhaps    timid    looking, 


136  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

she  might  have  expected  to  make  short  work  of 
me. 

"  Laura,"  said  she,  "  tell  me  at  once  where 
you  children  went." 

Now  I  was  really  more  scared  than  the  others, 
but  it  took  me  in  the  throat.  Crandma  looked 
so  powerful  that  I  didn't  really  know  what  she 
might  do,  and  besides,  I  had  more  at  stake  than 
the  rest  of  the  Tribe.  They  were  disgracing 
themselves,  but  I  was  disgracing  Aunt  Tabitha, 
singing  scales  over  there  in  Germany  in  perfect 
confidence  that  I  was  being  what  I  had  prom- 
ised to  be :  a  good  girl.  My  throat  seemed  to 
close  up,  and  it  hurt  me  horribly,  and  I  stood 
there  and  swallowed.  I  did  not  say  one  word, 
and  Crandma  sat  and  looked  at  me. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  at  last,  "  you  are  an  obstinate 
child.  I  don't  know  but  you're  worse  than  the 
rest.  And  every  one  of  you  deserves  to  be 
switched." 

"  Yes'm,"  said  Marcia. 

It  is  a  curious  thing  that  every  time  you  do 
wrong  it  seems  to  make  it  more  impossible  to  do 
right.  Marcia  really  meant  her  "  Yes'm  ",  out  of 
her  deep  depression,  thinking  of  the  Grandmother 


Crandma  137 

there  in  the  next  room,  perhaps  wiping  away  a  tear 
on  her  nice  little  handkerchief;  she  did  feel  that  we 
ought  all  to  have  been  whipped  for  being  so  stupid 
as  to  get  into  such  a  pother.  Being  in,  we  had  to 
play  fair  and  stick  to  our  vow ;  but  I'm  sure  we 
would  all  have  gladly  taken  a  switching  even  from 
Crandma's  vigorous  ringed  hand,  if  that  would  have 
set  us  right  again.  But  honestly  as  she  meant  it, 
the  "  yes'm  "  sounded  like  more  impertinence,  and 
so  Crandma  took  it. 

•  "  That  will  do,"  said  she.  "  Now  I  am  going  to 
tell  you  what  I  have  decided.  Your  other  Grand- 
mother has  left  the  matter  in  my  hands,  rightly,  as  she 
agrees  with  me  that  her  system  has  been  bad  for  you." 

I  had  seen  in  newspapers  when  speeches  were 
reported,  "  Cries  of  no  !  no  !  "  Well,  there  were 
cries,  confused  cries  of  "  No  !  no  ! "  at  this ;  for 
even  I  had  found  my  voice,  and  again  Crandma 
told  us :  — 

"  That  will  do.  I  am  going,"  she  said,  "  to  take 
Ruth  back  with  me." 

cc  Not  to  keep  her ! "  cried  Marcia,  emboldened 
by  the  awfulness  of  this.  "  Not  to  keep  her, 
Crandma  ? " 

"  I  am  going  to  take  Ruth,  and  I  am  going  to 


138  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

keep  her/'  said  Crandma.  "  She  may  not  have 
been  more  to  blame  than  the  rest  of  you,  but  she 
was  the  one  that  stayed  away  the  whole  night. 
And  I  have  a  feeling  that  she  is  deceptive.  I  feel 
that  she  has  been  sly." 

Ruth  sly !  Ruth,  our  heroine,  who  had  braved 
the  horrors  of  a  lonely  State  House  at  midnight 
and  had  spoken  "  Horatius  "  to  the  echoing  walls ! 
If  ever  there  were  martyrs  totally  misunderstood  in 
a  world  where  they  were  trying  to  be  perfectly 
splendid,  it  was  we. 

"  There,"  said  Crandma,  "  you  may  go.  Ruth, 
I  shall  give  you  a  day  or  two  to  have  your  clothes 
seen  to.  If  before  that  time  you  —  any  of  you  — 
make  up  your  minds  to  tell  what  you  have  been 
asked,  I  shall  be  glad  to  listen.  Amelia,  where 
are  you  ? " 

"  Here,"  said  Grandma,  in  a  miserable  tone.  I 
thought  Crandma  seemed  to  be  the  kind  of  person 
who  brought  out  that  tone  in  everybody. 

Grandma  came  through  the  hall  as  we  went  out, 
and  she  looked  as  if  it  had  been  she  who  was  the 
wrong-doer.  Kay  caught  at  her  hand,  as  they 
passed,  and  whispered,  in  a  fierce  little  way  which 
was  her  kind  of  loving  :  — 


Crandma  139 

cc  Don't  you  mind,  Gramma.     We  don't." 

But  though  Grandma  smiled  a  little,  this  didn't 
comfort  her :  for  she  wanted  us  to  mind,  at  least  to 
the  point  of  behaving. 

"Amelia,"  we  heard  Crandma  say,  as  we  went  up 
the  stairs,  "  how  long  will  it  take  you  to  pick  up 
Ruth's  things  ?     Will  they  fill  a  trunk  ?  " 

At  the  top  of  the  stairs  Marcia  had  one  hand  of 
Ruth  and  Kay  had  the  other.  They  went  on,  and 
I  followed,  into  Ruth's  own  room,  that  always 
seemed  more  by  itself  than  the  others  because  you 
went  down  a  step  into  it.  Inside  the  door  Ruth 
took  off  her  hat,  took  off  her  jacket,  and  folded  it 
carefully  and  laid  it  on  the  bed.  The  rest  of  us 
took  off  our  things  with  the  same  sombre  care,  and 
laid  our  folded  jackets  on  the  bed.  It  was  perhaps 
the  first  time  those  jackets  had  been,  by  our  hands, 
so  scrupulously  laid  away.  Then  Ruth  slowly 
pulled  off  the  little  ring,  held  it  for  a  minute, 
looking  at  it  as  if  she  loved  it  very  much,  and 
laid  it  in  the  confusion  of  her  upper  drawer.  She 
came  back  to  us,  and  we  sat  down  in  a  row  on 
the  bed  and  swung  our  feet.  It  was  Marcia  who 
spoke. 

"  You  can't  go,  that's  all." 


140  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  I've  got  to,"  said  Ruth.  "  She'll  make  me, 
and  Grandma'll  let  her." 

"  You  can't,"  said  Marcia. 

Ruth  broke  down.  She  put  her  head  in  the 
pillow  and  remembered  the  remark  of  a  heroine  in 
one  of  her  favorite  stories. 

"  It'll  break  my  he-he-heart !  "  she  sobbed,  and 
though  we  knew  she  was  a  little  bit  impressed  by 
the  importance  of  being  a  heroine,  the  words 
affected  us  so  that  we  begged  her  not  to  say  it. 

"  Don't,  Ruth,"  said  Marcia,  and  I  tagged  on  :  — 

"  O  Ruth,  don't." 

Ruth  took  her  tousled  head  out  of  the  pillow, 
and  sat  up,  her  face  all  blurred  by  crying. 

"Anyway,"  said  she,  "if  I'm  not  going  to 
be  afraid  of  things,  I'd  better  not  be  afraid  of 
her." 

But  to  this  we  paid  no  attention.  We  knew  she 
couldn't  help  being  afraid  of  a  power  like  Crandma. 
Besides,  she'd  be  all  alone.  There'd  be  no  games, 
no  pretending,  no  Flutino,  no  Tribe.  Those  three 
didn't  know  how  to  live  alone,  and  now  that  I  had 
learned  to  live  with  them,  I  shouldn't  have  known, 
either. 

"  If  we  were  all  going,"   said   Ruth,  miserably, 


Crandma  141 

"  maybe  I  could  bear  it.  But  I  s'pose  I  ought  to 
be  glad  you're  not." 

"  That's  it !  "  said  Marcia.  She  slapped  her  own 
knee  so  hard  that  she  involuntarily  said  "Oh!" 
"  We  must  go,  too." 

"  What,  all  of  us  ? "  said  I,  in  horror.  I  could 
not  imagine  myself  at  Crandma's. 

"  Yes." 

"  Laura  and  all  ?  "  asked  Kay,  and  for  a  minute 
I  felt  there  was  some  hope  for  me,  since  she,  too, 
thought  I  needn't  perhaps  be  included. 

"  All  of  us,"  said  Marcia,  briefly. 

"  How'll  we  manage  it  ? "  asked  Kay. 
"  Crandma  doesn't  want  us  all.  We'd  be  an 
awful  trouble.  She  never's  wanted  us  all  to- 
gether, and  it's  only  because  Grandma  begged 
her  not  to  separate  us  that  we've  been  allowed. 
I  don't  believe  'twas  Crandma  then.  I  believe 
'twas  Just  Grandpa." 

"We've  got  to  say  we  want  to,"  said  Marcia, 
firmly.  "That'll  please  her,  and  maybe  she'll 
let  us.  Besides,  she  thinks  we're  all  as  bad 
as  we  can  be,  and  maybe  she'll  kind  of  like  to 
get  hold  of  us  and  'incline'.  That's  what  she 
Says,  Laura:  cAs   the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree's   in- 


142  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

clined.'  She  thinks  Grandma  never's  inclined  us 
enough." 

"  Let's  settle  it  right  off,"  said  Ruth.  She  saw 
a  little  hope  for  herself,  and  she  couldn't  wait  to 
make  sure.     "  One  of  us  go  ask  her." 

It  was  a  task  we  were  not  eager  for.  There- 
fore Marcia  rose  to  her  feet  and  said  bravely :  — 

"I  thought  of  it  first.     I'll  go." 

While  she  was  gone,  we  sat  there  and  swung 
our  feet,  and  heard  Pete  whining  at  the  kitchen 
door,  with  no  desire  whatever  to  go  down  and  let 
him  in.  A  lonesome  doggie  meant  very  little  to 
us  at  that  minute.  We  were  thinking  too  hard 
of  a  lonesome  Ruth.  We  hadn't  long  to  think. 
There  was  a  rush  outside  the  door  and  Marcia 
whirled  in  and  flung  herself  down  beside  us.  Her 
face  told  a  doleful  story.  I  saw  plainly  we  were 
all  to  go,  and  that,  having  been  given  permission, 
she  was  doubly  miserable  at  having  got  it.  But 
though  she  might  be  sorry,  I  didn't  see  why  she 
should  look  as  if  she'd  done  a  thing  worse  than 
she'd  expected. 

"D'you  ask  her?"   said  Ruth. 

"Yes,"  said  Marcia,  gulping. 

"What  d'  she  say?" 


Crandma  143 

"  Said  we  could  go." 

"All  of  us?" 

"Yes." 

"  Hurrah  !  "  said  Ruth,  feebly.  It  didn't  seem 
much  at  the  best  to  be  hurrahful  over. 

"What  do  you  think  I've  done?"  said  Marcia, 
then,  in  a  tone  so  solemn  that  we  replied,  in  an 
actual  croak  of  sympathy  :  — 

"What?" 

"  I  got  into  the  room,  and  they  were  both  there, 
talking  about  Ruth's  wearing  through  her  stockings 
at  the  toes.  Grandma  said  she  couldn't  help  it, 
and  Crandma  said  'twould  make  a  lot  of  dif- 
ference if  she'd  remember  to  put  the  right-foot 
stocking  on  the  left  foot,  and  I  was  so  mad  — " 

"  'Course,"  said  Ruth.  "  How  could  you  keep 
remembering  which  was  your  right-foot  stock- 
ing?" 

"  You  might,"  said  Kay,  doubtfully,  as  if  she 
hated  to  disagree.  But  then  her  bureau  drawers 
came  nearer  to  being  neat  than  ours  ever  did. 

"  I  was  so  mad  I  couldn't  speak  to  her,"  said 
Marcia,  "  and  I  went  right  up  to  Grandma  and 
said,  c  Gramma,  if  Ruth's  going  away,  we  all  want 
to  go.     We  want  to  go  with  Ruth.'  " 


144  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"What  d'  she  say?  "  asked  Ruth. 

"  Why,  she  kind  of  looked  at  me  a  minute,  and 
then  she  quivered  all  over  and  she  said,  'Very 
well,  dear.'  c  What's  that  ? '  says  Crandma.  c  You 
all  want  to  come  ?  •  c  Yes'm,'  I  said.  c  Well/  she 
said,  c  you'll  find  it  a  very  different  state  of  things ; 
but  if  you  choose  to  come,  I  shall  try  to  do  my 
duty  by  you.     I  shall  write  to  your  Grandfather.' " 

"  Hurrah  !"  said  Ruth,  again  very  feebly;  but 
Marcia  turned  on  her. 

"  Don't  you  see,"  said  she,  "  what  an  awful 
thing  I've  done  ?     Don't  any  of  you  see  ?  " 

No,  we  didn't  see. 

"Why,  by  just  going  up  to  Grandma  and 
plumping  it  out  like  that,  and  not  explaining  a  bit, 
I've  made  her  think  we  all  want  to  get  away  from 
her.  She  knows  we  were  horrid  to  her  when  we 
wouldn't  tell  about  That  Night,  and  now  she 
thinks  we're  sick  and  tired  of  her." 

"She  can't,"  said  Kay. 

"  She  does,"  said  Marcia.  "  I  wish  you'd  seen 
her  face.'1 

"  Go  down  and  tell  her  how  'tis,"  said  I. 

I  didn't  realize  that,  now  we  were  so  deep  in  mis- 
doing, it  was  difficult  to  tell  anybody  how  it  was. 


Crandma  I45 

"You  can't  tell,"  said  Marcia,  gloomily.  "I 
shouldn't  know  how.  You  wouldn't,  either.  Go 
and  tell  yourself." 

I  certainly  didn't  know.  Besides,  if  I  had 
known,  I  should  hardly  have  been  willing  to 
attempt  a  task  my  chief,  the  dauntless  Marcia,  had 
quailed  before. 

"  Besides,"  said  she,  "  the  reason  we're  going  to 
Crandma's  for 's  the  kind  you  can't  tell." 

"Why,  it's  to  keep  me  company,"  said  Ruth. 
"  I  think  it's  real  dear.  You  could  tell  anybody 
that." 

"  No,  'tisn't  either,"  said  Marcia. 

"  'Tis,  too,"  said  Kay.  "'Course  it's  to  keep 
Ruth  company.     Do  you  s'pose  we  want  to  go  ?  " 

"Why,  no,"  said  Marcia,  "and  of  course  we 
want  to  keep  Ruth  company,  too.  But  what 
we're  really  going  for  is  to  act  so  she'll  send  us 
home  in  a  bunch  and  never  ask  us  again.,  Ruth 
couldn't  carry  on  alone.  You  can't.  But  get  us  all 
together  and  we  could  make  Crandma  ship  us  back 
next  day." 

We  giggled  here.  All  this  seemed  very  clever  of 
Marcia,  and  we  were  perfectly  sure  she  was  right. 
If  they  would  send  Ruth  to  Crandma's,  we  should 


146  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

have  to  go,  too.  If  we  went,  we  should  have  to 
keep  on  "acting  so  "  until  we  were  sent  back  again. 
The  grown-ups  had  left  us  no  other  way. 

"  I  just  can't  bear  it,"  Ruth  broke  out. 

"  Bear  what  ?  "  Kay  asked. 

"  I  can't  bear  to  have  Grandma  thinking  that, 
thinking  we  want  to  leave  her.  Why,  it's  enough 
to  kill  her.  We're  the  delight  of  her  eyes."  This 
again  was  out  of  Ruth's  story-books. 

"  Well,"  said  Marcia,  "  you  fix  it,  if  you  can.  I 
can't." 

She  rose,  gathered  up  her  hat  and  coat,  and 
was  stalking  out  of  the  room.  Suddenly  she 
stopped  and  whirled  round  upon  us. 

"  I  know,"  said  she.  "  I'm  going  to  write  to  Just 
Grandpa."     Then  she  went. 


CHAPTER  IX 

JUST    GRANDPA 

THE  first  thing  I   did  was  to  turn  to  Kay 
and  ask :  — 

"  Who's  Just  Grandpa  ?  " 

"Why,"  said  Kay,  "don't  you  know?  He's 
Crandma's  husband.     Didn't  you  ever  see  him  ? " 

I  believed  I  had  seen  him  once,  a  tall  man  with  a 
white  mustache.  He  had  come  to  Sedgmoor,  and 
Aunt  Tabitha  had  sung  to  him,  and  he  had  sat  and 
wiped  his  eyes  on  a  big  handkerchief  and  asked 
twice  for  "  Annie  Laurie  ".  I  remembered,  because 
when  Aunt  Tabitha  left  the  piano,  he  had  kissed 
her  hand  and  said  :  — 

"My  dear,  if  you  want  to  go  abroad,  count  on 
me. 

But  Grandma  had  sent  her  the  money  without 
waiting  to  ask  whether  she'd  take  it,  and  Aunt 
Tabitha  said  there  were  reasons  why  she'd  rather 
accept  it  from  her.  I  wondered  now  whether  the 
reasons  meant  one  reason,  and  that  was  Crandma. 

"  Why,"  said  Kay,  "  'twas  Ruth.     When  she  was 

147 


148  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

little,  she  found  a  picture  of  Great-Grandpa  and 
asked  who  it  was.  That's  Crandma' s  husband's 
father,  you  know.  And  Grandma  told  her  it  was 
Great-Grandpa.  And  right  after  that,  Crandma 
and  her  husband  came  to  spend  the  night,  and  he 
took  Ruth  up  and  begun  to  cuddle  her,  and  Ruth 
thought  he  was  a  stranger,  I  guess,  and  better  stand 
off.  She  was  going  to  cry,  and  Grandma  said : 
c  Why,  Ruth,  that's  Grandpa.'  c  Is  it  Great- 
Grandpa  ?  ■  Ruth  says,  and  Grandma  says :  c  No, 
this  is  just  Grandpa.'  So  Ruth  thought  'twas  his 
name  and  she  began  to  call  him  so,  and  he  liked  it, 
and  they  all  thought  'twas  so  cunning  of  her  they 
all  began  to  say  it  —  all  but  Crandma.  And  now 
he's  c  Just  Grandpa'.'* 

This  was  told  with  relish,  as  an  anecdote  that 
has  been  much  repeated ;  it  seemed  "  cunning  "  to 
me,  too,  and  we  got  quite  cheerful  over  it.  Then 
in  came  Marcia  with  her  letter  ready  to  read.  She 
was  greatly  excited,  and  so  pleased  with  it  that  she 
read  very  fast,  and  we  had  to  ask  her  to  stop  and 
begin  again. 

"  Read  it  yourself  then,"  she  said,  and  gave  it  to 
Kay.  "  I'm  going  down  to  let  in  Pete.  I'll  bring 
up  some  raisin  bread." 


Marcia  was  greatly  excited  and  so  pleased  with  her  letter  that 
she  read  very  fast." 


Just  Grandpa  149 

This  was  how  it  ran  :  — 

"cDear  Just  Grandpa:  We  are  having  an 
awful  time.  There  is  something  we  can't  tell,  be- 
cause we've  promised  not  to.  So  we  can't.  You 
see  that,  don't  you  ?  Any  gentleman  would. 
Uncle  Terry  don't,  because  he  thinks  we've  treated 
Grandma  awfully,  and  it  has  wharped  his  judg- 
ment. Everybody  is  against  us.  We  want  you 
on  our  side.  We've  got  to  have  you,  or  we  don't 
know  how  things  will  turn  out.  Our  Grandma 
has  given  us  up,  and  your  Grandma  is  going  to 
take  us  back  home  with  her  to  live  with  her  and 
you.' " 

"Who  is  his  Grandma?"  I  asked.  The  chain 
of  grandparents  had  begun  to  lengthen,  and  I  was 
rather  tangled  in  it. 

"  Why,  Crandma,"  said  Marcia.  "  He  knows 
who  I  mean.  I  couldn't  say  c  Crandma  ■  and  I 
couldn't  say  cyour  wife'.  But  she  is  a  grandma, 
and  she's  his  wife ;  so  she  belongs  to  him.  Go 
ahead." 

"  c  We  can't  go,'  "  Kay  read  on.  " c  We've  got 
things  to  do  here.  Besides,  this  is  our  home.  It 
would  be  awful  silly.'  " 

"  Can't  you  put  a  y  on  it  ? "  asked  Ruth,  anx- 


i^o  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

iously.  "  Crandma  said  to,  and  maybe  Just 
Grandpa  feels  the  same  as  she  does  about  it." 

She  ran  to  her  bureau  and  brought  Kay  a  rather 
stubby  pencil,  and  with  this  Kay  tacked  on  a  tail  to 
the  adjective  and  turned  it  into  an  adverb. 

" c  It's  well  enough  to  go  away  visiting  same  as  it 
is  when  you  come  here,  but  you  have  to  live  in 
your  own  home,  don't  you  ?  O  Just  Grandpa, 
can't  you  do  something  to  help  us  out  ? '  " 

"  Couldn't  we  put  in,  c  Our  hope  is  in  thee  '  ?  " 
Ruth  inquired,  timidly. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  Marcia  asked.  She  was  apt  to 
distrust  Ruth's  sentiments. 

"  It's  out  of  Mary-Queen-of-Scot's  Latin  poem," 
said  Ruth.  "  I've  got  the  whole  poem,  the  Latin 
and  the  translation,  too.  The  second  line's  the 
one." 

"  No,  we  don't  want  any  poetry,"  said  Marcia. 
"Just  Grandpa's  a  lawyer.  He  never  read  any 
poetry  in  his  life." 

"How  do  you  know?"  asked  Kay.  She  didn't 
care  for  flowery  things,  either,  but  she  was  willing  to 
let  Ruth  have  them  when  she  could. 

"Go  ahead,"  said  Marcia.  "That's  about  all 
there  is." 


Just  Grandpa  151 

So  Kay  read  on. 

"  c  We  hope  you  won't  tell  that  we've  written,  but 
if  you  have  to,  you  can.  People  blame  you  so 
when  you  can't  tell.  But  please,  please  do  some- 
thing and  we'll  never  forget  it  as  long  as  we  live.'  " 

"  Couldn't  we  change  that  to  c  till  death  do  us 
part  -  ? "  Ruth  inquired.  She  was  ever  hopeful, 
even  when  she  had  just  been  refused. 

"  If  you  want  to  write  another  kind  of  letter," 
said  Marcia,  with  majesty,  "you  can.  But  if 
you're  going  to  send  this  one,  you'd  better  let  it  be 
as  it  is." 

"  Letter's  all  right,"  said  Kay.  She  and  Marcia 
really  agreed  on  important  points,  though  she  did 
have  to  soften  the  edges  sometimes  to  satisfy  Ruth. 
"  Who  signs  first  ?  " 

"  Aren't  you  going  to  say,  c  Your  loving '  —  any- 
thing ? "  inquired  Ruth. 

"Yes,"  said  Marcia,  "if  you  want  to.  Here,  I'll 
put  it  in.  I'll  sign  first.  I'm  the  oldest.  And  if 
there's  any  trouble  about  the  letter,  I'll  take  the 
blame." 

So  she  added,  "Your  loving  Marcia",  and  Kay 
and  Ruth  put  their  names  under  hers,  and  I  labo- 
riously added  mine.    And  we  addressed  an  envelope 


152  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

to  "Alfred  Livingston,  Esquire",  and  then  put  on 
our  things  and  tore  up  to  the  post-omce,  to  mail 
the  letter.  And  when  we  had  done  it,  we  felt  that 
something  had  really  been  accomplished,  and  came 
home  quite  cheerful,  heartening  ourselves,  as  we  got 
near  the  house  and  the  shadow  of  Crandma,  by 
chanting,  in  an  undertone  :  — 

"Yello-OIyell-O!  yell! 
We  won't  tell!' ' 

Grandma  was  standing  at  the  window,  watching 
for  us  ;  but  when  she  heard  the  yell,  she  turned  away, 
and  we  understood  too  late  that  we  had  hurt  her 
again.  She  thought  we  were  having  a  high  old 
time  chanting  our  mysterious  yell,  and  that  we  were 
ready  and  glad  to  leave  the  home  where  she  believed 
she  had  made  us  happy. 

"  Don't  you  think  we're  the  unluckedest  that 
ever  was  ? "  Kay  inquired,  in  disgust  over  our  ill 
deeds. 

"  The  what  ?  "  Marcia  asked,  and  Kay  repeated 
"unluckedest",  and  insisted  that  it  was  the  right 
word. 

And  so  depressed  were  we  that  we  couldn't  deny 
it,  or  even  call  on  the  dictionary  to  help  us  out. 

We    went    to     the    kitchen    door.     There    we 


Just  Grandpa  i$$ 

shouldn't  see  Crandma,  to' be  reproved  again,  and 
we  miserably  hoped  Mary,  at  least,  would  be  kind 
to  us.  And  she  was.  The  kitchen  was  beautifully 
warm,  jn  that  cosey  way  kitchens  have,  and  Mary 
stood  by  the  stove,  toasting  bread.  It  was  brown 
bread,  and  on  the  shelf  at  the  back  stood  a  big 
saucepan  of cc  dip  ".  We  were  going  to  have  brown- 
bread  cream  toast.  That  happened  only  occa- 
sionally, for  not  always  was  there  brown  bread. 

"  O  Mary  !  "  said  Ruth.  Then  I  believe  we  all 
said,  "  O  Mary ! "  and  she  turned  her  bonny  face 
toward  us,  and  we  could  see  how  gentle  it  looked, 
and  that  she  had  perhaps  been  crying :  for  her  eyes 
were  red.  I  knew  what  was  the  matter.  Somehow 
or  other  Crandma  had  got  at  her,  too,  and  made 
her  cry. 

"So  you  children  are  going  to  Mr.  Livingston's 
to  live  ? "  said  Mary,  and  it  came  over  us  that  she 
had  been  crying  about  us.  We  had  one  friend,  at 
least,  besides  Grandma  with  whom  we  couldn't,  for 
some  queer  reason,  make  our  peace.  Our  hearts 
felt  warmer  and  somewhat  comforted,  and  at  the 
same  time  we  had  a  great  pity  for  ourselves  because 
nobody  understood  us  nor  how  noble  we  were,  and 
perhaps  nobody  ever  would.     I  say  we  all  felt  so, 


154  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

because  I  know  I  did,  and  I  believe  things  struck 
us  all  in  about  the  same  way.  Were  we  not  the 
Tribe? 

We  went  up  to  the  stove  and  stood  in  a  huddled 
group,  watching  Mary  toast,  thinking  how  hard 
things  were  for  us  —  and  for  Mary  and  the  Grand- 
mother, too,  because  they  were  going  to  lose  us 
—  and  at  the  same  time  absently  computing  the 
number  of  slices,  and  whether  the  toast  would  go 
round  twice.  Mary,  from  long  habit,  read  our 
fears. 

cc  It's  all  for  you,"  she  said.  "  Grandma  wants 
you  should  have  your  supper  early.  You're  going 
to  have  it  alone.  Mrs.  Livingston's  accustomed 
to  eat  at  seven,  and  then  she  likes  a  chop.  I  guess 
I'll  let  you  have  some  jam.  Which  would  you 
like,  blackberry  or  currant  ?  " 

We  voted  earnestly,  Kay  on  Ruth's  side,  and 
Marcia  challenged  her  vote  because  she  said  Kay 
didn't  like  currant,  and  never  had,  and  always  com- 
plained because  the  seeds  were  so  big.  If  you  were 
going  to  vote,  you'd  got  to  vote  fair.  And  Mary, 
instead  of  driving  us  out  of  the  kitchen  and  choos- 
ing herself,  said,  in  quite  a  subdued  and  chastened 
tone : — 


««  We  went  up  to  the  stove  and  stood  in  a  huddled  group,  watching 
Mary  toast  and  thinking  how  hard  things  were  for  us." 


Just  Grandpa  155 

"  Now  don't  spoil  your  last  days  by  acting  so. 
I'm  going  to  give  you  both." 

This  again  depressed  us  until  we  found  the  toast 
before  us  and  realized  it  was  Mary's  richest  brand  ; 
and  then  we  ate  it  and  both  kinds  of  jam  and  more 
toast  and  more  jam,  and  Mary  didn't  even  tell  us  we 
should  lie  awake.  She  waited  upon  us  meekly,  and 
I  believe,  if  we  had  demanded  the  chops  waiting  to  be 
cooked  for  Crandma,  she  would  have  got  them  for 
us,  so  great  was  her  sense  of  trouble  in  losing  us, 
trials  though  we  were.  When  there  was  no  more 
toast,  Kay  tiptoed  up  to  the  sitting  room  door  and 
peeked,  it  was  so  quiet.     There  was  no  one  there. 

"  I  believe  they're  upstairs,"  she  said,  and  stand- 
ing at  the  stair  foot  we  listened. 

Yes,  there  were  voices,  Crandma's  definite  and 
masterful  and  Grandma's  a  low  murmur. 

"  They're  in  the  sewing  room,"  said  Kay. 

"  I  know,"  said  Marcia.  "  They've  begun  to 
look  over  our  clothes." 

So  we  crept  up  the  back  stairs  and,  being  a  little 
cold  and  very  lonesome,  we  undressed  and  went  to 
bed.  I  didn't  mean  to  go  to  sleep,  for  I  knew 
perfectly  well  Grandma  would  come  in  and  look 
at  us,  one  after  another,  and  smooth  the  sheet  and 


\     ^ 


156  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  fix  ?f  the  curtain.  Nothing  was  quite  right  unless 
Grandma  gave  it  a  last  pat  and  stroke.  That  was 
why  we  asked  so  many  things  of  her.  We  weren't 
really  lazy.  Only  Grandma  could  do  the  things 
just  right. 

In  the  morning,  when  we  came  out  of  our  rooms, 
it  was  raining  hard,  and  there  in  the  hall  stood  three 
trunks  brought  from  the  storeroom  for  our  clothes, 
and  there  were  voices  again  in  the  sewing  room,  as  if 
they'd  gone  on  from  the  night  before  ;  only  there  was 
a  new  voice  added. 

"  It's  Tender-and-True,"  said  Kay.  "  She's  come 
to  sew  us  up." 

I  had  to  be  told  who  this  was,  and  Marcia  explained 
it  was  Mrs.  Douglas,  who  went  about  sewing  by  the 
day  and  cooking  wonderfully  when  there  were  big 
suppers,  and  there  was  a  song  Flutino  sang — 

"  I  know,"  I  broke  in.  "  Aunt  Tabitha  sings  it. 
c  Douglas,  Douglas,  tender  and  true '." 

"Uncle  Terry  named  her,"  said  Kay.  "He  says 
he's  but  one  wish  about  Tender-and-True.  He 
wants  to  see  her  in  blue  velvet  and  a  square  neck 
going  out  to  dinner  at  the  ambassador's." 

"Why  does  he?"  I  asked. 

"  Because  she's  so  handsome." 


Just  Grandpa  157 

*  What  ambassador's  ? "  I  continued.  I  had  to 
know  everything,  for  really  it  was  all  so  interesting. 

"Oh,  any  ambassador's!  I  suppose  he's  seen 
'em.     I  never  did." 

"She'd  go  out,"  said  Ruth,  remembering  her 
novels, "  on  the  ambassador's  arm." 

"  I've  seen  a  picture  of  Tom  Thumb  standing  on 
a  man's  arm,"  said  I. 

So,  by  talking  of  other  things,  we  tried  to  per- 
suade ourselves  that  nothing  unusual  had  happened; 
but  it  was  happening  every  minute  now,  and  we 
knew  it.  Our  clothes  were  being  mended,  the  trunks 
were  being  aired,  and  Crandma  was  telling  Grandma, 
who,  like  us,  grew  more  and  more  depressed,  just 
what  she  meant  to  do  with  us.  And  queerer  than 
all,  Just  Grandpa  must  be  getting  our  letter. 

Later  in  the  day,  we  were  called  upon  to  be  meas- 
ured. The  cousins  were  to  have  aprons,  high-necked 
and  long-sleeved.  It  seems  that  all  the  aprons  were 
outgrown. 

"  They're  not  worn  thin,  either,"  said  Crandma, 
holding  one  and  then  another  of  them  up  to  the  light 
and  frowning  at  it.  "  That  seems  very  peculiar  to 
me." 

Tender-and-True  was  measuring  Kay's   waist  at 


158  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

the  moment,  and  Kay  laid  a  hand  on  her  soft  coil  of 
iron-gray  hair  and  gave  it  a  pat ;  and  Tender-and- 
True  smiled  a  little,  even  though  her  mouth  was 
primmed  up  with  a  pin  in  it.  I  believe  Kay  and  she 
were  exchanging  a  tiny  signal,  though  it  looked  like 
affection  alone.  "  We  know,"  the  signal  said,  "  we 
know  why  the  aprons  are  outgrown  without  being 
worn." 

"  Don't  you  think  it  a  peculiar  circumstance, " 
said  Crandma,  poring  over  another  apron,  "  that  the 
children  should  have  outgrown  these  and  they're 
not  even  thin  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear ! "  said  Grandma.  She  had  turned 
quite  pink,  and  she  looked  as  if  she  had  never  known 
until  now  just  how  wrong  she  had  been.  "  I'm 
afraid  they  haven't  been  worn  much." 

"Apparently,"  said  Crandma.  "But  that's  the 
mystery.     Why  haven't  they  been  worn  ?  " 

"  Oh,  the  children  don't  like  them,"  said 
Grandma,  hurriedly,  "  and  they  forget  them,  and  I 
forget  to  tell  them,  and  there  we  are.  I'm  afraid  I 
haven't  managed  well  at  all." 

"No,"  said  Crandma,  solemnly.  "No,  Amelia, 
you  certainly  have  not.  Well,  they  will  wear  their 
aprons    now.     They    will    wear    their    aprons,    and 


Just  Grandpa  159 

they  will  go  to  the  public  school  —  and  we  shall 
see." 

All  that  day  it  rained,  "  lickety  split ",  Marcia 
said,  and  the  next  day  it  rained.  The  trunks  were 
aired,  and  a  new  key  fitted  to  one  of  them,  and 
Tender-and-True  kept  on  sewing,  and  we  had  our 
favorite  things  to  eat.  It  looked  as  if  Mary  found 
no  other  way  to  show  her  feelings,  and  she  fed 
us  till  we  could  eat  no  more.  On  one  point 
Crandma  had  yielded  ;  but  that  was  because  Grandma 
was  so  surprisingly  firm. 

"  I  can't  separate  the  children  from  Pete,"  she 
bad  said.  "  I  can't  do  that,  Susan.  The  dog  must 
go  along." 

They  had  discussed  it  a  whole  day,  Grandma 
growing  pinker  and  pinker,  but  never  retreating 
an  inch,  and  finally  Crandma  had  given  in. 

"Very  well,"  said  she0  "He  can  go.  Alfred 
will  find  a  place  for  him  in  the  stable." 

But  Pete,  dear  Pete,  was  not  used  to  sleeping 
in  a  stable.     Our  spirits  sank  lower  yet. 

Uncle  Terry  had  gone  away.  That,  too, 
depressed  us.  He  might  not  be  on  our  side, 
but  he  was  fair  and  kind,  and  perhaps  he  might 
have  done  something  for  us  in  this  extremity. 


160  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  How  could  he  go  ?  "  asked  Ruth.  cc  I  don't 
see  how  he  could,  do  you  ?  " 

"  Why/'  said  Kay,  "  don't  you  know  what 
Crandma  said  to  him,  last  time  she  came  ?  We 
were  in  the  hall,  and  you  heard  it  same  as  I  did. 
'  Well,  Terry,'  she  said,  c  you  didn't  answer  my 
letter.'  He  looked  as  mad  as  hops,  but  he  didn't 
say  anything,  and  then  she  says,  c  About  your  un- 
fortunate wife,  I  mean.'  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Marcia,  "  he  turned  right  round 
then,  turned  his  back  on  her,  and  he  said,  c  I  don't 
care  to  discuss  my  unfortunate  wife.  Perhaps  that 
was  why  I  didn't  answer.'  And  you  know  he 
was  called  away  by  business  that  very  night,  and 
he  didn't  come  back  till  she  was  gone." 

"  You  mustn't  talk  to  people  about  people  that 
are  dead,"  said  Ruth,  wisely.  "  People  don't  like 
it." 

"  What  made  her  call  her  unfortunate  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Why,  because  she  was  dead,"  said  Marcia. 
«  Goonie !  " 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth,  "it's  very  unfortunate  to  be 
dead.  They  say  they're  gone  to  heaven,  but  they 
always  call  them  cpoor'.  Everybody  does  but 
Grandma;    she    says,    cdear\     The     others    say, 


Just  Grandpa  161 

cWhen   your     poor     mother    was    alive.       When 
your  poor  father  was    alive/     I've   heard   'em." 

I  think  I  never  knew  a  storm  that  seemed  to  last 
as  long  as  that  one.  The  rain  kept  slanting  down, 
and  the  leaves  were  off  the  trees,  and  Crandma 
talked  constantly  to  Grandma  about  the  advan- 
tages of  a  public  school,  and  Tender-and-True 
made  aprons  enough  to  clothe  an  entire  academy, 
it  seemed  to  me,  in  blue  and  white  check ;  and  at 
last  a  morning  dawned  with  a  clear  gleam  in  the 
sky,  and  Mary  began  to  put  the  first  layer  in  the 
first  trunk.  Then  something  happened.  Johnnie 
Arms  came  with  a  telegram.  It  was  for  Crandma, 
and  while  Grandma  signed  the  book  and  Marcia 
and  Kay  conversed  with  Johnnie  about  his  mother's 
goldfish,  Crandma,  standing  very  straight  and 
tall  in  a  red  morning-gown  with  a  cord  and  tassels, 
read  the  telegram  aloud ;  then,  seeming  to  won- 
der over  it  even  more  than  we  did,  she  read  it 
again. 

" c  Am  well.  Come  home  at  once.  Do  not  bring 
any  of  the  children/  " 

<c  Is  that  Just  Grandpa  ? "  Grandma  asked. 


1 62  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Johnnie  Arms  was  going  now,  and  Kay  closed 
the  door  behind  him.  We  didn't  dare  look  at  one 
another. 

"Yes,"  said  Crandma,  still  in  that  thoughtful 
tone.  "  He  was  away  on  business  when  I  left.  He 
was  to  get  home  last  night.     He  can't  be  sick  —  " 

"  No,"  said  Grandma,  "  he  says  that.  c  Am 
well/  But  why  does  he  want  you  ?  And  why 
doesn't  he  want  the  children  ?" 

"  I  can't  imagine,"  said  Crandma.  "Well, 
there's  no  question  about  it.  I  must  go.  Alfred's  so 
peculiar.  He  so  seldom  expresses  any  opinions,  that 
when  he  does  I  feel  as  if  there  was  a  reason  for  it." 

"You  don't  think,  do  you,  Crandma,"  said 
Marcia,  jubilantly,  "the  house  may  be  burnt  down, 
anything  like  that?" 

"  Why,  you  unpleasant  child ! "  said  Crandma. 
She  frowned,  and  her  eyeglasses  jumped  off  and  fell 
on  their  elegant  chain.  "  My  house  burned  down? 
Well,  I  should  hope  not.  I  shan't  have  a  minute's 
peace  till  I  get  there." 

"Did  he  know  the  children  were  coming?" 
Grandma  inquired. 

"  He  knew  one  was.  I  told  him  I  might  bring 
Ruth.     I  thought  he'd  be  delighted.     You  know 


Just  Grandpa  163 

how  delighted  he  is.  He's  perfectly  foolish  over 
children.     Well,  I  must  go  up  and  pack." 

We  looked  at  her  broad  back  ascending  the  stairs 
and  at  Grandma's  slender  gray  one  following  it. 
Grandma's  gray  was  outlined  on  the  red  with  quite 
a  space  on  each  side  to  spare.  Then  we  rushed  to 
the  closet,  got  out  our  "things",  and  put  them  on, 
hats  anyhow,  and  coats  half  buttoned,  and  gloves  and 
mittens  in  our  hands.  We  almost  fell  out  of  the 
front  door  and  raced  down  the  street.  Flutino 
knew  we  were  going  away.  We  had  told  him  so  in 
a  note  weighted  with  a  stone  and  tossed  from  the 
Plantation  into  his  yard,  and  now  we  ran  like  Mara- 
thon runners,  so  that  he  needn't  lose  a  minute  of  the 
good  news.  When  we  sped  up  the  drive,  we  heard 
the  piano  and  Flutino  singing  scales.  We  didn't 
dare  go  in.  It  was  understood  that  when  he  was 
practising,  he  wasn't  to  be  called,  understood  between 
his  mother  and  us,  not  by  Flutino  himself.  So  we 
raced  on  to  the  barn.  Eph  was  standing  in  the 
doorway,  a  pail  in  his  hand.  It  was  plain  he  didn't 
intend  we  should  go  in. 

"  I  don't  want  none  o'  your  tricks  nor  antics 
round  here  this  mornin',"  said  he.  "  I  can't  stop  to 
watch  ye.     I'm  busy." 


164  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Marcia  never  could  help  talking  in  the  way  of 
the  person  who  spoke  to  her,  —  that  is,  if  she  was 
very  much  in  earnest. 

"  We  ain't  got  no  tricks,  Eph,"  she  said,  "  nor 
antics,  neither.  We  want  you  to  tell  Gerald " 
—  for  Flutino  was  not  his  name  to  his  family, 
only  to  ours  —  "we  want  you  to  tell  him  Mrs. 
Livingston  is  goin'  home  and  we  ain't  goin'  with 
her." 

Eph  still  eyed  us,  and  held  his  post. 

"  Oh,  come,  Eph,"  said  Kay,  "  don't  be  mad.  We 
didn't  do  a  thing  to  Major.  He  went  up  just  as 
easy.  All  he  had  to  do  was  to  lift  his  feet.  He 
wasn't  even  scared." 

"  That  hoss  is  a  fool,"  said  Eph. 

"Well,"  said  Marcia,  "goin'  to  tell  Gerald?" 

"  I'll  see,"  said  Eph.  "  I  will  if  I  think  on't. 
Anyways,  you  go  home." 

Marcia  put  her  hand  to  her  cap  and  saluted  him, 
and  so  did  the  rest  of  us,  though  a  little  late.  We 
wheeled  about,  and  then  he  called  us. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  said  he. 

We  did  wait,  and  he  went  into  the  barn  and  came 
out  bringing  a  measure  full  of  red-cheeked  seckel 
pears. 


f«  He  came  out,  bringing  a  measure  full  of  red-cheeked  seckel  pears." 


Just  Grandpa  165 

"  Here/'  said  he,  ungraciously,  "  they  won't  last 
long.     You  might's  well  eat  'em  up." 

So  we  thanked  him  and  filled  our  pockets ;  but 
we  knew  these  were  among  the  first  to  ripen,  only 
Eph  thought  it  would  be  bad  for  us  to  see  he  was 
actually  being  kind.  It  would  give  him  less  author- 
ity in  the  barn.  The  piano  was  still  going  on,  and 
Flutino  was  singing  queer  sad  scales  not  even  Mar- 
cia  knew  how  to  sing,  and  we  cut  across  at  the  back 
of  the  house  and  went  on  down  the  River  Road, 
and  ate  pears  and  told  one  another  how  wonderful 
it  was  that  Just  Grandpa  had  interfered.  We  took 
a  long  walk,  and  the  sun  came  hot  and  strong  and 
made  the  most  wonderful  Indian  summer  day. 
The  wet  leaves  began  to  smell  bitter,  and  a  few 
more  last  ones  sifted  down,  and  Pete  got  into  a 
mudhole  on  the  river  bank  and  came  back  to  us 
completely  soaked ;  and  though  we  knew  we'd  got 
to  wash  him  in  the  shed  before  he  could  be  allowed 
in  the  house,  we  didn't  care  a  speck  —  for  Crandma 
had  gone,  and  we  had  not  gone  with  her.  We 
walked  fast,  and  then  lingered,  and  in  spite  of  the 
pears  we  were  all  at  once  suddenly  hungry.  And 
across  a  bridge  the  noon  train  ran  hooting  along,  as 
if  it,  too,  understood  it  was  carrying  Crandma  away 


i66  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

and  was  too  pleased  to  keep  from  screaming.  It 
came  over  us  all  at  the  same  moment. 

"My!"  said  Kay,  "she's  on  that  train." 

"  We  didn't  bid  her  good-by,"  said  Ruth. 

"Well,"  said  Marcia,  "we  didn't  mean  not  to. 
Come,  le's  go  home  and  tell  Grandma  we  expected 
to  be  there  if  we  could." 

This  was  true.  Only  the  morning  had  been  so 
beautiful,  and  our  feet  had  moved  so  fast.  There 
hadn't  seemed  any  other  way  but  to  walk  and  walk, 
and  when  Pete  invited  us,  to  run. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    FAIRY    QUEEN 

WE  didn't  walk  quite  so  fast  on  the  way 
home,  and  dinner  was  waiting  and  Mary 
rather  cross.  We  couldn't  understand 
why  she  should  be  so  tender  with  us  if  we  were 
going  and  quite  hard-hearted  if  we  stayed.  I  am 
not  sure  but  we  expected  Grandma  and  Mary  both 
to  meet  us  on  the  steps  and  throw  their  arms  about 
us,  as  if  we  had  been  snatched  from  deadly  peril. 
We  felt  like  rescued  mariners  at  least,  and  were 
prepared  to  behave  so.  But  the  house  was  quiet, 
and  Grandma  just  coming  down  the  stairs. 

"  Wash  your  hands,  children,"  she  said,  "  and 
come  to  the  table.  Mary's  nice  dinner  is  getting 
cold." 

But  at  sight  of  her  and  the  certainty  that  we 
hadn't  lost  her  and  she  hadn't  got  rid  of  us,  we 
rushed  upon  her,  and  Marcia  and  Kay  hugged 
her,  and  Ruth  and  I,  not  being  able  to  reach  the 

167  . 


1 68  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

inner  circle,  hugged  them.  And  somebody  hit 
the  front  door,  and  it  burst  open,  not  having 
been  quite  latched,  and  Pete  put  in  his  nose  and 
then  his  muddy  coat,  and  Grandma  said :  — 

"  Mercy !  where's  that  dog  been  ?  Take  him 
into  the  shed  at  once.  Or,  no,  there's  a  fire  in 
the  laundry.     Take  him  there." 

But  though  Pete  broke  up  our  hugging,  we  did 
think  Grandma  had  a  tear  or  two  on  her  cheeks, 
and  the  rescued  mariner  feeling  came  back  to  us, 
and  we  were  happy.  Kay  ventured  a  step  farther 
than  I  should  have  dared.  We  were  sitting  down 
at  the  table,  and  she  said :  — 

"  Gramma,  aren't  you  sorry  you  aren't  sitting 
here  alone,  and  us  gone  off  with  her  ? " 

Grandma  spoke  quite  severely. 

"  Kay,  I  must  insist  on  your  using  more  correct 
English.  And  I  insist  on  your  calling  your  other 
Grandmother  something  besides  her.'9 

Marcia,  who  was  late,  came  in  reading  a  slip  of 
paper. 

" c  Mrs.  Livingston  has  been  called  home/  " 

"What's  that?"  asked  Kay. 

"  Found  it  on  the  hall  floor,"  said  Marcia. 

"  It  is  a  copy  of  a  telegram  I  sent  to  your  Uncle 


The  Fairy  Queen  169 

Terry,"  said  Grandma,  calmly  ;  but  she  looked  a 
little  guilty  and  her  cheeks  flamed  up. 

We  couldn't  help  glancing  at  one  another.  We 
knew.  It  was  true  then  that  he  had  run  away 
to  stay  till  Crandma  did  go  home,  and  Grandma 
was  telling  him  the  coast  was  clear.  How  hungry 
we  were,  that  noon,  and  how  fast  we  talked :  about 
mud  and  dogs  and  seckel  pears  and  having  Flutino 
to  supper.  And  Grandma  listened,  and  talked, 
and  agreed,  and  smiled,  and,  in  the  midst  of  it, 
called  Mary  to  bring  some  of  the  new  raspberry 
shrub,  and  we  were  the  gayest  family  in  range  of 
the  State  House.  Grandma  didn't  mean  to  let 
us  forget  we  hadn't  really  escaped,  after  all.  She 
didn't  do  it  to  take  our  spirits  down,  but  only 
because  she  thought  it  was  fairer. 

"  Don't  forget,  children,"  she  said,  as  we  left  the 
table,  "  that  you  are  to  go  to  your  other  Grandma 
as  soon  as  she  has  seen  Just  Grandpa  and  found 
out  what  the  matter  is." 

"  No'm,"  said  Marcia,  piously. 

We  thought  we  knew  Just  Grandpa  would  delay 
it  a  little  while  at  least. 

But  we  did  settle  down  to  our  dear  old  times, 
and  we  saw  perfectly  well  that  Grandma  and  Mary 


170  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

settled  down  too.  Uncle  Terry  came  home,  and 
when  we  saw  him  walking  up  the  path,  his  bag  in 
his  hand,  we  ran  out  and  took  hands  and  danced 
round  him  and  chanted  our  yell,  only  without  any 
words  to  it,  just  grunting  syllables.  For  we 
couldn't  chant  before  grown-ups  the  awful  vow, 
"  We  won't  tell  ".  It  would  have  been  dangerous 
to  us  as  well  as  impertinent  to  them.  So  we  had 
arranged  it  this  way  to  use  whenever  we  wanted  to 
give  it  in  public.  Uncle  Terry  stood  still  and  let 
us  dance.  He  smiled  a  little,  grimly,  and  said, 
when  he  at  last  broke  the  ring  and  went  on  to  the 
house:  — 

"Well,  you  young  imps!"  and  we  knew  he 
wasn't  sorry  to  find  us  there. 

He  had  no  sooner  gone  in  than  we  saw  a  village 
hack  was  stopping  at  the  gate.  It  had  perhaps 
crawled  along  slowly  from  the  train  with  its  two 
enormous  trunks  strapped  on  behind,  and  it  looked 
like  a  big  unhappy  beetle  that  had  somehow 
attached  itself  to  the  thin-necked  horses.  For  an 
instant  my  heart  almost  choked  me.  I  thought 
Crandma  must  have  come  back  and  it  was  all  to 
begin  over  again,  the  aprons,  the  trunks,  the  home- 
sickness, and  Pete  to  sleep  in  the  stable.     We  all 


The  Fairy  Queen  171 

faced  round  to  know  the  worst  at  once,  and  there  at 
the  window  of  the  hack  was  the  most  charming  face 
I  had  ever  seen,  a  girl's  face,  merry  and  fascinat- 
ingly able  to  tell  a  million  stories  without  a  spoken 
word.  Aunt  Tabitha  was  pretty.  I  had  been  used 
to  think  she  was  the  prettiest  young  lady  in  the 
world,  as  Grandma  was  the  prettiest  old  one.  But 
this  face  was  prettier  than  Aunt  Tabitha's,  far,  far 
prettier.  It  had  a  lovely  pointed  chin,  and  white 
teeth  and  dimples,  and  soft  hair  all  in  little  dusky 
knots,  and  the  eyes  were  blue  as  violets  and  blue 
sky,  and  there  were  black  lashes,  curling  and  as 
long,  Marcia  said  afterward,  as  a  cow's,  to  make 
them  prettier.  And  the  lovely  face  was  all 
white  and  pink,  and  we  stared  and  stared  and 
couldn't  find  a  word  to  say,  it  charmed  us  so. 
It  couldn't  have  been  very  long  that  we  were 
staring,  but  it  seemed  time  enough  to  learn  the  face 
by  heart :  for  the  hackman  had  got  down  and 
opened  the  door  and  begun  to  unstrap  the  trunks, 
and  she  had  put  out  the  neatest  foot  and  appeared, 
the  charming  whole  of  her,  a  slim  young  lady  in  a 
blue  suit  with  a  blue  hat  and  feathers.  She  wore 
furs,  though  it  hadn't  seemed  late  enough  for  any 
one    in   the    village   to   bring    theirs    out,   and    she 


172  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

smiled  at  Ruth  and  tossed  her  a  big  black  muff 
and  said,  "  Catch  !  "  But  Ruth  was  perfectly  stiff, 
with  the  wonder  of  seeing  her,  and  couldn't  limber 
up  in  time,  and  Marcia  sprang  in  between,  fixed  her 
hands  professionally  and  got  the  muff.  So  we 
stood  while  the  young  lady  paid  her  fare,  and  the 
hall  door  opened  and  out  came  Uncle  Terry.  The 
young  lady  was  going  up  the  walk,  and  they  met 
face  to  face.  He  stopped  short,  and  she  stopped 
and  dropped  her  little  blue  handbag  with  the  silver 
monogram,  and  it  opened,  and  a  lot  of  silver  coins 
and  little  gold  boxes  fell  out  and  began  rolling 
everywhere  over  the  bricks.  Uncle  Terry  didn't 
stoop  with  us  to  pick  them  up.  He  stood  stock 
still,  and  said  to  her,  in  a  voice  sterner  than  any  he 
had  ever  used  to  us  :  -- 

"  Is  this  a  trick  ?  " 

She  laughed.  People  didn't  laugh  like  that  in 
the  village,  unless  they  were  either  very  young  or 
very  happy,  and  even  then  it  wasn't  really  like  it. 
This  laugh  had  music  in  it.  She  didn't  answer 
him.  She  went  on,  and  Grandma  opened  the  door 
to  her,  and  Uncle  Terry  stood  still,  his  hands 
rammed  down  in  his  pockets,  looking  at  his  feet. 
I  took  one  glance  at  him,  and  I  thought  he  was 


r~>- 


Q     jarahK5ffliltL 

;  He  stopped  short,  and  she  stopped  and  dropped  her  little  blue 
handbag.    .   .    ." 


The  Fairy  Queen  173 

very    cf  mad ".     People    were    either    red  or  white 
when  they  were  "mad  ",  and  Uncle  Terry  was  white, 

We  were  picking  up  the  boxes  and  the  coins. 
And  when  we  had  got  them  nicely  packed  into  the 
bag,  and  Marcia  stood  there  holding  it,  Uncle 
Terry  began  walking  down  the  path.  The  hack- 
man  had  the  trunks  off  and  was  shaking  his  head  at 
them,  as  if  they  could  help  being  so  big,  and  now 
the  front  door  opened  again  and  Grandma  called:  — 

u  Terry,  come  here." 

He  stopped,  but  he  didn't  turn.  Then  she 
called  again  :  — 

"  Terry,  please  come  here." 

He  didn't  answer ;  but  he  said  gruffly  to  the 
man  :  — 

u  HI  give  you  a  hand,"  and  together  they  lifted* 
the  first  heavy  trunk  and  carried  it  into  the  house 
and  upstairs  to  the  poppy  chamber,  and  came  out 
for  the  second  one,  and  carried  that  up,  too.  Then 
the  hackman  came  out  alone,  and  mounted  his  box, 
and  drove  away,  and  we  stood  there  on  the  walk 
and  stared  at  the  bag  as  if  it  had  come  from  fairy- 
land;  and  Marcia  was  the  only  one  to  pluck  up 
sense  even  to  ask  a  question. 

"  Who  d'you  s'pose  she  is  ?  " 


174  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

It  was  of  no  use  even  to  try  to  answer,  and  she 
knew  that.     So  she  put  another  question. 

"  What  made  him  say,  '  Is  this  a  trick  •  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  know,"  said  Ruth,  eagerly.  She  was 
always  in  a  delighted  hurry  with  the  answers  she 
was  sure  none  of  us  knew.  They  had  all  come  out 
of  her  story-books.  "  She  dropped  her  bag.  He 
thought  'twas  to  make  him  pick  it  up  for  her." 

"  What  for  ?  "  said  Marcia.  "  What's  the  use  of 
having  it  picked  up  when,  if  you'd  held  on  to  it, 
you'd  have  it,  anyway  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Ruth,  "  because  he's  a  gentleman, 
and  maybe  he  might  fall  in  love  with  her.  She's  a 
stranger,  and  she  don't  know  he  couldn't  because 
his  heart  is  buried  in  that  grave." 

"  What  grave  ?  "  Marcia  asked.  She  was  so  on 
fire  with  curiosity  about  the  lovely  stranger  that  I 
believe  she  felt  if  there  was  anything  to  be  got  out 
of  Ruth,  she'd  have  it  this  time. 

"  Why,"  said  Ruth  again,  "  his  wife's.  Don't 
you  see,  he  might  think  she  dropped  the  bag  to 
make  him  stoop  to  pick  it  up  —  don't  you  see, 
she'd  like  to  find  him  at  her  feet?  And  he's  so 
stern  and  so — so  unbending,  he  asked  her  right  off, 
c  Is  this  a  trick  ? '  " 


The  Fairy  Queen  175 

"  Ruth/'  said  Marcia,  "  if  you  ever  talk  that  way 
before  anybody  but  us,  you'll  be  shut  up  and  fed 
on  bread  and  water." 

Ruth's  pretty  lips  trembled.     * 

cc  I  don't  care/'  she  said.  "It's  so,  anyway. 
And  if  you  don't  want  me  to  tell  you  things,  you 
needn't  ask  me." 

Again  the  front  door  opened. 

"  Children,"  came  Grandma's  voice,  "  I  want  you." 

We  never  obeyed  so  fast  before.  And  when  we 
had  got  to  the  sitting  room,  Grandma  was  back 
there,  and  she  and  Uncle  Terry  and  the  lady  stood 
as  if  they  had  been  set  at  the  corners  of  a  triangle 
with  equal  sides,  and  Grandma  looked  flushed  and 
excited  but  extremely  pleased,  I  thought,  and  Uncle 
Terry  was  whiter  and  more  frowning,  if  that  could 
be.  The  stranger  had  her  long  gloves  off,  and 
kept  slapping  one  white  hand  with  them.  And  the 
rings  on  the  white  hand  that  moved  flashed  in 
colors  of  fire,  red  and  blue.  Whatever  Uncle 
Terry  had  said  to  her,  it  had  not  offended  her,  for 
she  was  smiling  still,  and  all  the  dimples  were  dim- 
pling round  her  lovely  mouth.  She  was  speaking 
as  we  went  in,  and  her  voice,  like  her  laugh,  was 
music. 


176  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"After  all,  I'm  only  going  to  stay  till  Amy 
Fullerton  comes.     It  isn't  so  very  long/' 

"  Children/'  said  Grandma,  "  this  is  Miss  Maisie 
Delorme,  the  lady  Miss  Fullerton  has  sent  to  fill 
her  place  till  she  can  come." 

We  couldn't  speak.  This  a  governess,  this 
grown-up  fairy,  this  princess  out  of  story-books  ! 
I  found  myself  looking  down  at  my  hands,  and  then 
hiding  them  behind  my  back.  I  had  spilled  some 
ink,  that  morning,  when  I  was  trying  to  tattoo 
Ruth's  old  sailor  doll,  and  hadn't  been  able  to  get 
the  stain  from  under  my  nails.  Such  nails  wouldn't 
do  in  the  presence  of  a  fairy  governess.  We  stood 
still,  we  four,  as  still  as  mice  called  up  and  intro- 
duced to  a  fairy  that  surely  couldn't  scratch  or 
pounce,  but  still  might  be  a  cat. 

"  Who  has  my  bag  ? "  the  lovely  voice  inquired. 
It  seemed  always  to  have  a  laugh  in  it.  "  Marcia  ? 
Kay,  you're  as  tall  as  Marcia,  aren't  you  ?  Ruth,  I 
bet  you're  the  one  that  would  swap  a  kiss." 

Ruth  was  upon  her  that  instant,  in  a  little  rush, 
and  with  a  pang  of  jealousy  I  saw  her  taken  into 
the  blue  arms,  and  hugged,  and  kissed  first  on  one 
cheek  and  then  on  the  other.  The  stranger  let  her 
go  and  gave  a  nod  in  my  direction. 


The  Fairy  Queen  177 

"  You're  Laura/'  she  said.  "  Aunt  Tabitha  was 
on  my  steamer  going  over." 

So  that  accounted  for  it.  Aunt  Tabitha  had 
talked  about  us,  and  shown  our  pictures. 

"  I  think  you'd  better  go  upstairs  now,  dear," 
said  Grandma,  "  and  take  off  your  things.  This 
has  been  rather  an  exciting  morning  for  all  of  us. 
You  must  get  well  rested.  And,  Terry,  don't  you 
go  away.     I  want  to  speak  to  you." 

Maisie  Delorme  laughed,  as  if  now  she  were 
quite  at  home  and  very  much  pleased  with  every- 
thing. 

"  I'm  not  tired,"  she  said.  "  I'm  never  tired. 
But  come,  dear  Lady  Grandma,  show  me  my  room. 
I  want  to  talk  to  you." 

They  went  off  upstairs,  their  arms  about  each 
other's  waists,  and  into  the  poppy  chamber  and 
closed  the  door.  We  could  hear  the  murmur  of 
their  voices.  Uncle  Terry  stood  where  he  had 
been  standing,  and  he  looked,  Marcia  said  after- 
ward, like  a  thunder  cloud,  "  pot  black  ". 

"  Uncle  Terry,"  said  Ruth,  «  isn't  she  —  " 

But  she  got  no  farther.  Uncle  Terry  turned 
upon  us  and  winked  his  eyes  open  as  if  he  wanted 
to   see  better,  and   then  ran  up  the   stairs   in   big 

N 


178  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

leaps,  I  should  think  three  at  a  time,  and  on  into 
the  third  story,  and  we  heard  the  banging  of  his 
door.  We  had  no  time  to  wonder  over  him.  We 
were  used  to  Uncle  Terry,  and  whatever  we  didn't 
understand  about  him  could  easily  wait.  We  had 
to  brush  our  hair  and  see  that  we  were  fresh  enough 
to  sit  down  to  dinner  with  the  fairy  guest.  Usually 
we  had  to  be  coaxed  or  spurred  to  these  niceties  of 
the  toilet ;  but  to-day  there  was  no  question.  We 
felt  like  rough,  uncurried  ponies  in  the  presence  of 
such  elegance.  Grandma's  elegance  wasn't  the 
same.  She  was  an  old  lady  with  plenty  of  time  to 
be  exquisite,  and  besides  we  were  used  to  her. 
This  was  a  butterfly,  just  out  of  its  cell. 

At  dinner  I  can't  tell  you  how  prim  we  were. 
The  only  thing  to  ease  us  up  was  Ruth's  hair. 
She  had  wet  it  and  curled  it  in  a  little  row  of  curls 
round  the  back  of  her  head,  and  it  hadn't  dried, 
and  the  curls  looked  like  shavings.  Every  time 
we  glanced  at  her  we  were  near  giggling,  and 
Grandma  looked  two  or  three  times,  in  a  puzzled 
way,  as  if  she  couldn't  imagine  what  made  Ruth  so 
queer.  But  we  knew.  She  was  trying  to  live  up 
to  the  Fairy  Queen.  For  by  this  time  this  was 
what  we   called   her,  sometimes   the   Fairy  Queen, 


The  Fairy  Queen  179 

sometimes  Titania.  Marcia  thought  of  it  while 
she  was  putting  new  lacings  in  her  boots,  and  it 
didn't  occur  to  any  of  us  how  funny  it  was  to  set 
a  Fairy  Queen  in  the  midst  of  an  Indian  Tribe. 
Uncle  Terry  was  not  at  the  table.  He  had  been 
obliged  to  go  "up  street",  Grandma  said,  and  she  was 
so  grave  about  it  that  we  thought  she  didn't  consider 
it  very  polite.  She  and  the  Fairy  talked  about 
ocean  voyages  and  Amy  Fullerton,  and  a  great 
many  things  that  grown-ups  do  talk  about,  but 
that  never  seemed  very  interesting  to  us.  Titania 
had  just  got  home  from  Europe.  She  had  gone 
over,  she  said,  on  the  ship  with  Aunt  Tabitha,  but 
had  learned  things,  on  the  ship,  which  decided  her 
to  turn  about  and  come  back. 

"  Tabitha    said  — "   she    began    once,    and    then 
stopped  short,  and  bit  her  lip,  and  looked  annoyed, 
and  as  if  she  had  said  what  she  hadn't  intended. 
Grandma  broke  in  quickly  :  — 
"  Marcia,  dear,  will  you  pass  me  the  salt  ?  " 
But  Grandma  had  salt  of  her  own.     So  we  knew 
something  had  been  nearly  mentioned  that  was  not 
to  be  talked  about  before  us.     You  soon  learn  the 
signs  of  that.     Some  families  are  rude  and,  if  you 
are    really   little,   spell    things   out.     Some   talk    in 


180  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

French.  But  Grandma  was  a  lady,  and  she  only 
slid  the  talk  round  another  way,  or  interrupted  if 
she  had  to. 

"Amy  Fullerton  is  such  a  sweet,  noble  girl," 
she  said  then. 

"  Sweet !  "  said  Titania.  "  Oh,  what  a  lot  she 
knows  !  But  you  never'd  suspect  it.  Amy's  not 
a  prig." 

"  If  all  college  girls  could  be  like  her,  I  should 
be  inclined  to  think  my  four  here  would  go  to 
college,"  said  Grandma. 

I  thought  it  lovely  of  her  to  count  me  in.  We 
didn't  say  anything,  but  we  knew  perfectly  well 
what  we  were  going  to  do,  and  we  didn't  need  any 
college  to  teach  it  to  us.  Ruth  was  going  to  be  a 
milliner  and  have  a  little  shop  like  one  "up  street", 
with  a  bell  that  tinkled  when  you  opened  the  door, 
and  ribbons  and  lace  and  straw  all  over  the  chairs. 
Marcia  was  going  on  the  stage.  Kay  was  going  to 
raise  tobacco.  She  had  been  to  Connecticut  once 
and  come  home  perfectly  fascinated  by  the  way 
they  planted  it  and  the  neatness  of  the  drills.  And 
I  was  going  to  travel  about  with  Aunt  Tabitha, 
when  she  went  on  her  concert  tours,  and  be  a  com- 
fort   to    her.     It    was    quite    understood    between 


The  Fairy  Queen  181 

Aunt  Tabitha  and  me,  and  had  been  for  a  long 
time. 

When  we  got  up  from  the  table,  Titania  looked 
at  us  suddenly  as  if  she  had  'talked  to  Grandma 
about  grandmother  things,  and  now  it  was  our  turn. 
She  smiled  delightfully,  and  put  an  arm  about 
Kay's  shoulders,  as  we  left  the  room.  We  got  as 
near  her  as  we  could.  There  were  lovely  things 
that  hung  on  little  chains  from  her  belt  and  clinked 
as  she  walked,  and  there  was  a  faint  scent  about  her 
clothes.  It  wasn't  a  perfume.  None  of  us  would 
have  liked  that,  except  Kay,  who  kept  a  cologne 
bottle  on  her  bureau  and  would  sometimes  uncork 
it  and  smell  and  smell  in  ecstasy.  But  this  was  the 
faintest  breath,  such  as  you  might  get  from  a 
flower-bed  in  June. 

"  Anybody  want  to  do  an  errand  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Yes!"  we  cried.  We  all  wanted  to  do  it. 
There  was  going  to  be  hot  competition. 

"Anybody  want  to  take  a  stranger  that  doesn't 
know  her  way  about  for  a  little  walk  ?  a  very  little 
walk,  not  far  away,  but  where  she  can  speak  to  a 
tree?" 

"  The  Plantation  ! "  cried  Marcia. 

We  had  our  things  on  in  about  two  minutes,  and 


1 82  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Marcia  had  run  upstairs  and  brought  Titania's  blue 
jacket,  and  Titania  had  slipped  her  arms  in,  and 
put  on  her  hat  and  pinned  it  with  a  wonderful  pin. 
The  pin  looked  like  an  enormous  pearl,  and  that 
night  Ruth  wondered  if  it  could  be  real. 

"'  Course/'  said  Kay,  stoutly,  and  Marcia  added :  — 

"She  wouldn't  wear  anything  else." 

"  Grandma,  why  don't  you  come  ? "  Kay  asked. 

We  never  did  invite  her,  because  we  knew  she 
preferred  her  gentle  deeds  indoors ;  but  this  seemed 
a  very  special  walk,  and  we  couldn't  bear  to  leave 
her  out.  But  she  smiled,  in  a  funny  little  way,  at 
Titania  instead  of  us,  and  Titania  smiled  at  her. 
I  think  now  they  had  arranged  it,  perhaps,  for 
Titania  to  take  us  off  alone,  and  get  acquainted. 
We  were  enormously  excited  and  very  proud.  We 
led  her  through  the  gate  and  into  the  Plantation, 
and  though  she  said  little,  we  knew  perfectly  well 
that  she  was  pleased.  You  can  always  tell  whether 
people  like  outdoors  or  not.  If  they  really  like  it, 
they  don't  talk  much  and  they  behave  in  a  particular 
way.  I  can't  explain  what  the  way  is ;  but  if  you 
like  it  yourself,  you  can  tell  quick  enough. 

It  was  a  warm,  sweet  day,  and  it  smelled  of  leaves, 
and    slender   sun   arrows    came   down  through  the 


•      •       • 


«  I  happened  to  glance  atTitania  ...  and  her  blue  eyes  were 
full  of  tears." 


The  Fairy  Queen  183 

branches,  and  we  heard  the  crows.  And  sud- 
denly I  happened  to  glance  at  Titania,  and  she 
was  looking  my  way,  and  her  blue  eyes  were  full 
of  tears. 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I  never  saw  such  a  place." 
Yet  she  had  seen  all  the  beautiful  places  abroad. 
"Nor  such  a  house  —  nor  such  a  Grandma.  You 
must  let  me  stay  a  long  time." 

"  We  don't  want  you  to  go,"  said  Marcia.  "We'd 
rather  have  you  than  Amy  Fullerton." 

Then  Titania  laughed,  and  two  tears  hung  for  an 
instant  on  the  fringes  of  her  eyes,  and  she  seemed 
to  shake  off  her  worry,  whatever  it  was,  and  make 
herself  gay. 

"  Dear  me  ! "  she  cried,  "  what's  that  ?  Are  there 
houses  in  here  ?  " 

"  Only  one,"  said  Marcia,  proudly.  "  It's  our 
house." 

We  led  Titania  up  to  the  Playhouse,  which,  of 
course,  was  really  the  Wigwam,  only  that  couldn't 
be  mentioned,  even  to  her.  And  Kay,  with  great 
importance,  took  the  key  from  under  the  stone,  and 
threw  open  the  door.  Titania  entered  first.  No, 
not  at  once.  What  did  she  do  but  stand  there  on 
the  sill  and  say  — 


184  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  But  my  stars  !  Do  you  know  what  you've  got 
here?" 

"  No/'  said  Kay.  She  looked  about,  all  over  the 
Wigwam,  with  a  frown,  to  see  if  somebody  had 
brought  in  something  we  didn't  know.  "  What  is 
there  ? " 

"Why,"  said  Titania,  "this  is  the  very  nicest 
place  I  ever  saw  in  my  whole  born  days  to  play 
Red  Riding  Hood  in." 


CHAPTER   XI 

TURKEY    RED 

WE  went  into  the  Wigwam,  and  Kay  had 
a  fire  going  in  no  time.  What  pride 
and  pleasure  we  took  in  showing  our 
visitor  about !  She  saw  everything  almost  before 
we  had  time  to  find  it  for  her,  and  somehow  she 
made  us  feel  as  if  we  had  been  very  clever  indeed 
to  bring  about  such  a  nice  Playhouse  with  such 
wonderful  furnishings.  After  we  had  walked  all 
round  the  room,  the  little  chains  from  her  belt 
clinking  in  fairy  music,  we  drew  up  chairs  before 
the  fire,  and  she  was  placed  in  the  biggest,  and 
stretched  out  her  silk-stockinged  feet  to  the  blaze. 
Marcia  had  one  of  her  hands,  and  was  holding 
it  like  a  little  animal  that  mustn't  be  hurt,  and 
Ruth  had  the  other  and  was  looking  at  its  rings. 
For  a  few  minutes,  Titania  seemed  to  sink  into 
a  dream  and  forget  about  us  all.  Her  face  lost 
its  merry  look.  She  was  thinking,  I  knew,  about 
things  very  far  from  playhouses  and  adoring  chil- 

185 


1 86  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

dren.  We,  too,  kept  quiet,  and  the  fire  made  that 
soft  weaving  sound  it  does  when  you  have  given 
it  exactly  the  kind  of  stick  it  likes.  Perhaps  the 
silence  brought  her  back  from  where  she  was.  She 
looked  down  at  us,  first  at  one  face,  then  at  another, 
and  her  own  crinkled  all  up  in  its  merry  fashion. 

"  O  girls  !  "  she  said. 

We  liked  that.  We  were  tired  of  being  called 
"children".  We  hadn't  known  it  before;  but 
"  girls "  sounded  exactly  right,  as  if  we  were  as 
old  as  she  and  she  was  as  young  as  we. 

"  Who  started  the  Playhouse  ?  "  she  asked  Kay. 

"  Grandma,"  said  Kay. 

Then  she  told  the  story  of  the  schoolhouse,  as 
she  had  told  it  to  me. 

"  All  her  own  idea,"  inquired  Titania,  "  or  had 
you  asked  her  to  ?  " 

"  Oh,  we  didn't  ask  her  to,"  said  Marcia.  "  She 
thought  of  it.  We  didn't  know  what  she  bought 
it  for  till  she  gave  us  the  key." 

"  And  were  all  these  darling  chairs  in  here 
then?"  Titania  asked.  "And  that  table?  and  the 
pictures  ?  and  the  desk  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Marcia.  "  Gramma  had  it  all 
fixed  up." 


Turkey  Red  187 

"And  when  she  gave  you  the  key,  I  suppose 
she  stood  by  to  see  you  open  the  door  and  come 
in  and  find  all  the  lovely  things  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Kay,  "  I  don't  remember  it  that 
way.  I  guess  she  told  us  to  come  over  here  and 
look  under  the  stone  and  find  the  key,  and  open 
the  door  and  see  what  we  saw." 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth,  "that  was  the  way." 

"  Yes,"  said  Titania,  "  that's  the  way  she'd 
do  it.  She's  a  regular  fairy  grandmother.  She'd 
want  you  to  have  it  the  fairiest  way." 

Marcia  glanced  up  sharply.  Here  was  some- 
thing about  fairies.  Could  she  ask  her  question  ? 
Could  she  ask  whether  Titania  really  believed 
there  were  any,  or  didn't  we  trust  her  enough 
yet? 

"  Now,  girls,"  said  Titania,  "  I've  got  to  tell 
you  something." 

She  looked  very  businesslike  and  serious. 

"Can  we  tell?"   Ruth  asked. 

"  I  hope  you  won't ;  but  you  needn't  promise 
not  to.  Sometimes  you  get  into  trouble  by  promis- 
ing not  to  tell." 

I  don't  know  whether  we  looked  guilty,  but  we 
certainly  felt  so.     Titania  went  on  with  such  inno- 


1 88  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

cence  that  we  saw  she  hadn't  had  our  late  troubles 
in  her  mind. 

"  Now  you  know  I've  come  here  to  take  Amy 
Fullerton's  place  till  December." 

Yes,  we  knew  it. 

"  So  I'm  the  governess." 

c<  Yes,"  we  chorused,  in  high  delight.  Certainly 
we  had  never  set  eyes  on  a  governess  such  as  this. 

"  Well !  "  said  Titania.  "  Well !  "  She  wrinkled 
up  her  brows  till  it  looked  as  if  they  thought  she 
was  going  to  cry ;  but  her  mouth  smiled,  as  if  it 
knew  she  was  ready  to  laugh.  "  You  see,  girls,  I 
don't  know  one  thing  —  that  is,  the  sort  Amy 
Fullerton  knows." 

We  didn't  care,  we  assured  her.  That  was  the 
very  kind  of  governess  we  should  have  picked 
out  for  ourselves,  if  we'd  been  allowed  to  look. 

"  I  don't  know  arithmetic,  or  grammar  or  history, 
or  how  to  write  a  business  letter,  or  how  to  make 
out  a  bill,"  said  Titania. 

Now  it  sounded  as  if  she  were  really  in  despair. 
We  thought  it  the  best  joke  in  the  world. 

"  Does  Gramma  know  it  ? "  Kay  inquired,  and 
Titania  looked  surprised. 

*  Oh,    yes,"    she    said.      "  Of   course    Gramma 


Turkey  Red  189 

knows  it.  I  couldn't  keep  anything  from  her, 
not  while  I'm  staying  in  her  house,  you  know.  It 
wouldn't  be  polite." 

This  was  a  new  view  of  it.  I  resolved  to  think 
it  over  when  I  had  time. 

"  Grandma  has  been  told,  and  still  she's  willing 
I  should  stay.  But  I  do  know  just  two  or  three 
things.     I  know  French  and  Italian  and  German." 

We  felt  a  slight  disappointment.  We  had  hoped 
she  was  quite  destitute  of  all  knowledge,  as  she  had 
said  in  the  beginning.  That  would  have  left  her 
free  to  sit  here  by  the  fire  and  tell  us  things. 
People  who  knew  anything  whatever  had,  we  had 
observed,  a  tendency  to  thrust  facts  on  other  people, 
and  at  least  to  take  books  and  withdraw  into  corners 
when  they  might  play  instead.  Titania  was  quick 
as  lightning  at  reading  what  was  in  your  mind,  even 
when  you  hardly  knew  it  was  there  yourself. 

"  And,"  she  began,  in  a  tone  that  seemed  to  say 
she  had  something  very  nice  indeed  to  bring  out 
now,  "  I  can  dance." 

The  cousins  had,  up  to  this  time,  I  knew, 
thought  of  dancing  as  only  a  dull  reason  for  spend- 
ing an  afternoon  in  the  village  hall,  taking  lessons, 
when  they  would  rather  have  been  out  of  doors  or 


190  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

in  Flutino's  barn.  Ruth  did,  indeed,  like  dancing; 
but  Kay  and  Marcia  so  drowned  out  her  little  voice 
by  their  groans  and  waitings  that  perhaps  they 
thought  she,  too,  went  unwillingly.  At  dancing 
school  they  didn't  see  themselves  in  a  light  they 
liked.  Flutino,  for  example,  was  the  most  splendid 
chum  in  the  world  when  they  were  all  let  loose 
together;  but  Flutino  marching  up  and  asking  for 
the  "pleasure  of  the  next  dance"  was  another 
person.  Sometimes  they  scowled  at  him,  even 
though  they  knew  he  was  as  miserable  as  they. 
Sometimes  they  tried  to  make  him  laugh.  No, 
dancing  was  a  foolish  business  got  up  by  older 
people  for  mysterious  reasons  of  their  own. 

"  See  !  M  said  Titania.  She  rose,  stepped  outside 
the  circle,  and  waited  until  we  turned  to  face  her. 
Then  she  began  to  sing,  in  a  high,  clear  voice, 
something  fast  and  beautiful ;  and  with  every  note 
of  the  measures  her  little  foot  came  down  in  time. 
We  were  wild  with  delight  We  didn't  know  what 
to  do,  it  pleased  us  so.  Not  one  of  us  thought  to 
clap.  We  just  sat  there  in  our  low  chairs  hitched 
halfway  round  and  stared  at  her,  open-mouthed ; 
and  when  she  had  finished,  she  stood  a  minute, 
smiling,  and  evidently  reading  our  rapt  and  eager 


Turkey   Red  191 

faces.  Pete  was  the  one  to  break  the  spell. 
Marcia  had  been  holding  him  by  the  collar,  be- 
cause he  was  the  kind  of  dog  who,  when  anybody 
stirs  out  of  a  walk,  wants  to  be  on  the  spot.  I 
believe  he  had  been  straining  at  his  collar,  but  I 
had  forgotten  all  about  him.  With  the  end  of  the 
dance,  Marcia  must  have  loosed  her  hold,  for  he 
dashed  forward  and  began  jumping  over  the  table, 
back  and  forth,  five  or  six  times,  big  flying  leaps. 
We  all  screamed  with  the  pleasure  of  it,  and  Titania 
got  down  on  the  floor  and  "  wuzzled  "  him  in  a  way 
that  made  us  see  she  knew  exactly  how  to  treat  a 
dog ;  and  then  we  came  back  to  the  fire,  and  Pete 
"  flumped  "  down  at  her  feet,  and  wrinkled  his  eye- 
brows at  Marcia,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Do  excuse 
me  for  paying  particular  attention  to  this  new  play- 
mate, but  she's  really  quite  the  thing." 

Titania  was  looking  at  us. 

"  If  I  could  have  a  dancing  class  ?  "  she  sug- 
gested modestly,  and  Marcia  cried  :  — 

"  You  wouldn't,  would  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  would,"  said  Titania.  "In  half  a 
minute,  too,  as  soon  as  Ruth  has  loosened  her  belt 
a  little." 

We  knew  Ruth  wore  her  belt  too  tight,  because 


192  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

she  was  inclined  to  plumpness  and  she  wanted  to 
be  what  she  called  a  "  silp  ".  But  it  seemed  nothing 
less  than  witchcraft  that  a  new  playmate  should 
guess  so  soon. 

"You  can't  have  anything  tight  when  you're 
dancing,"  said  Titania.  "  Got  to  breathe  right,  or 
it's  no  good." 

Ruth  instantly  let  out  her  belt,  and  then,  in  her 
excitement,  forgot  it  was  a  question  of  waists  and 
not  of  fingers,  and  said,  breathlessly :  — 

"  I'll  take  my  ring  off,  too." 

Titania  seemed  to  understand  exactly  why  you 
said  anything  you  might  happen  to  say.  She 
laughed. 

"  All  right,"  said  she.  "  Sometimes  you  have 
to.  When  I'm  dancing  —  really  dancing  —  I  take 
off  my  heavy  rings.  So,"  she  went  on,  "  I 
thought  if  you'd  be  willing  to-  talk  French  and 
German  and  Italian  for  a  while,  and  dance  —  you'll 
love  the  dancing  —  maybe  I  could  cram  on  the 
arithmetic  and  history  and  that  kind  of  thing,  and 
you'd  let  me  stay  till  Amy  Fullerton  comes." 

She  looked  at  us  in  such  eagerness,  such  delight- 
fulness  of  a  great  many  sorts  all  mixed  together, 
that  we  found  no  way  of  telling  her  how  perfectly 


Turkey  Red  193 

beautiful  we  thought  it,  and  how,  if  she  didn't  stay, 
we  never  should  have  a  happy  moment  again. 

"  But  we  don't  know  a  thing  about  French 
really/'  said  Marcia.  "  I  mean,  speaking.  We 
can  read  a  little,  fables,  you  know,  and  say,  'De  la 
tige  detachee\  " 

That  didn't  seem  to  move  her. 

"  Oh,"  said  she,  carelessly,  "  you  can  speak  in  no 
time.  It's  easy  as  fun.  Come,  now,  let's  begin  the 
dancing." 

We  got  up,  full  of  a  mad  ambition,  and  Pete,  to 
his  great  sorrow,  was  put  outside  the  door,  where  he 
stood  and  shivered  and  breathed  long  breaths  into 
the  crack,  which  was  his  way  of  saying,  cc  Let  me 
in."  So  perfectly  did  Titania  dance,  with  such  a 
wonderful  ease,  that  I  believe  we  expected  to  dance 
like  her,  even  at  this  beginning.  It  seemed,  as  she 
had  said  of  the  French,  as  easy  as  fun.  But  these 
were  exercises  and  steps  and  even  breathing,  and  we 
couldn't  do  them  half  well.  We  had  to  do  them 
what  she  called  "absolutely  right".  I  don't  know 
how  long  we  worked,  but  it  was  long  enough  to 
leave  us  breathless,  and  then  she  told  us  that 
wouldn't  happen  when  we'd  learned  to  breathe. 
Marcia  was  always  for  doing  the  whole  of  a  thing 


194  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

in  one  job,  and  when  we  had  gone  back  to  the  fire 
she  was  still  practising  steps  behind  us,  until  Titania 
told  her  she  had  done  enough.  Ruth,  again  with 
her  ring  on,  was  snuggled  close  to  Titania's  knee, 
and  now  she  looked  up  and  put  a  question. 

"  What  did  you  mean  about  Red  Riding 
Hood  ?  " 

Marcia  had  let  in  Pete,  and  he  came  splaying  and 
hurling  at  us,  and  bidding  us  remark  how  clever  he 
had  been  to  get  in  at  all. 

"  This  house,"  said  Titania.  "  It's  exactly  right 
for  the  Grandmother's  cottage.  And  there's  the 
Wood  outside,  and  the  Wolf  in  it.  We  could  play 
Red  Riding  Hood  quick  as  a  wink." 

"  Could  we  ?  "  asked  Marcia.  The  very  mention 
of  playing  "  in  a  play  "  was  enough  to  set  her  off. 
"When?" 

"  Why,"  said  Titania,  cc  we  could  begin  to  make 
the  costumes  this  very  afternoon." 

She  had,  we  learned,  one  of  our  own  habits  to 
perfection.  As  soon  as  she  found  something  she 
particularly  wanted  to  do,  she  had  to  dash  at  it  that 
minute,  no  matter  what  she  was  doing  at  the  time. 
So  she  got  up  and  pinned  on  her  hat,  and  we  threw 
on  our  things,  and  Marcia  put  the  fender  before  the 


Turkey  Red  195 

fire,  and  we  went,  almost  running,  back  through  the 
Plantation,  and  in  at  the  front  door  to  the  sitting 
room  where  Grandma  sat  with  a  book  in  her  lap, 
and  that  particular  expression  she  had  when  she 
hadn't  been  asleep  but  "just  lost "  herself. 

"  Dear  Grandmother  Lady,"  said  Titania,  "  have 
you  some  turkey  red  you  could  give  us,  or  will  you 
let  us  go  to  the  shop  and  buy  it  ? " 

Grandma  was  quite  awake,  now  there  was  some- 
thing to  be  done. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  she.  "  I  bought  a  lot  that  win- 
ter I  meant  to  have  sandbags  on  the  windows,  and 
then  I  never  made  the  bags.  It's  up  in  the  piece 
closet,  I  think." 

We  had  never  had  the  slightest  interest  in  the 
piece  closet.  It  was  a  big  one  lined  by  plump  bags 
filled  with  different  colored  cloth,  and  with  more 
perishable  stuffs,  such  as  velvet  and  lace,  in  the 
drawers  of  a  little  bureau  facing  the  door.  Our 
chief  connection  with  the  piece  closet  was  seeing 
Tender-and-True  disappearing  there,  if  anybody 
needed  to  be  patched  or  lengthened  or  braided  or 
hooked,  and  coming  out  with  exactly  the  right  bag 
to  do  the  deed.  Turkey  red  for  Red  Riding  Hood 
was  another  thing.     We  stood  at  the  door  while 


196  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Grandma,  as  if  by  magic,  put  her  hand  on  the 
proper  bag,  and  then  she  brought  it  out,  and  began 
to  open  it  there  on  the  table  in  the  hall. 

"  We'll  find  it,  Grandmother  Lady,"  Titania  said. 
"  We  mustn't  trouble  you." 

So  Marcia  pulled  the  things  out,  and  Kay 
pounced  suddenly,  just  as  we  all  saw  at  the  bottom 
a  flare  of  red.  There  it  was,  the  turkey  red,  a  gen- 
erous roll. 

"  Put  the  other  things  back,"  said  Titania. 
"Then  we  must  hang  up  the  bag.  And,  Lady 
Grandma,  where  shall  we  go  to  sew  ? " 

The  sewing  room,  Grandma  thought,  because  the 
big  cutting  table  was  there.  And  maybe  we'd  want 
to  use  the  machine. 

"I'm  ashamed,"  said  Titania.  "I  don't  know 
how.     Do  you,  girls  ?  " 

No,  we  didn't  know  how,  either,  and  for  the  first 
time  in  our  lives  we  were  ashamed  of  it.  But  that 
was  because  Titania  was  ashamed.  Everything  she 
felt  or  said  or  did  seemed  the  best  thing  to  feel  and 
say  and  do. 

"  I  can  stitch  for  you,"  said  Grandma. 

Her  head  was  quite  high,  and  her  eyes  were  brighter 
than  ever.     Perhaps  we  had  got  into  the  habit  of 


Turkey  Red  197 

thinking  grandmas  preferred  to  walk  gently  about  and 
sleep  a  little  and  read  a  book  ;  but  perhaps  they  really, 
like  us,  were  fond  of  a  little  fun.  So  we  all  went  off 
to  the  sewing  room,  and  found  it  in  the  beautiful 
order  Tender-and-True  always  left  it  in.  Titania 
pulled  some  newspapers  out  of  the  basket  by  the 
hearth,  ready  for  a  fire,  and  Grandma  opened  a  drawer 
and  took  out  the  scissors,  and  they  cut  a  pattern 
in  no  time  and  pinned  it  on  Ruth,  and  set  the  rest  of 
us  to  threading  needles.  Ruth  was  to  be  Red  Rid- 
ing Hood.  There  was  but  one  voice  about  it.  She 
was  the  smallest  and  the  most  exactly  right.  I  think 
Marcia  and  Kay  were  each  secretly  longing  to  be  the 
Wolf.  As  for  me,  I  hoped  I  could  stand  by  and  see 
the  play  go  on. 

"  We  can  just  baste  the  cape  together,"  said  Titania. 
"  Only  it  must  be  strong.  Kay,  you  take  the  hood 
and  sew  it  up  this  way  —  "  and  then  it  came  out  all 
of  a  sudden  that  neither  of  the  three  knew  how  to  sew 
at  all. 

I  did,  for  Aunt  Tabitha  had  taught  me.  I  had 
had  to  sew  patchwork,  as  was  the  custom  in  Sedg- 
moor,  "  over  'n  over ".  But  when  I  saw  the 
Grandmother's  face,  I  took  no  pride  in  my  accom- 
plishment. 


ig8  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I  never  have  done  a  bit  of 
my  duty,  not  a  bit.  I  ought  to  have  taught  them, 
and  I  haven't,  they  hated  it  so.  And  they  never 
seemed  to  have  any  time." 

Titania  went  into  peals  of  laughter  over  this. 
She  appeared  to  think  it  was  the  nicest  and  the  fun- 
niest thing  ever  said. 

"You  are  a  perfect  glory,  Lady  Grandma/'  she 
said.  "What  was  the  use  of  their  learning  to  sew 
till  they  had  something  to  sew?  But  now  we  have, 
and  if  we  don't  do  it  right,  you  just  tell  us." 

The  Grandmother  opened  drawers,  and  brought 
out  boxes,  thin  wooden  boxes  with  a  beautiful  grain 
to  the  wood,  a  little  like  molasses  candy  when  it  is 
pulled.  And  from  these  she  took  thimbles  and 
spools,  and  we  were  fitted  out  with  a  thimble  each. 
Kay  refused  hers.  She  said  she  could  push  the 
needle  through  a  great  deal  better  with  a  wad  of  pa- 
per; but  Titania  told  her  she  might  just  as  well  try 
to  drink  without  a  glass  as  sew  without  a  thimble. 

"  When  you  sew,  you  must  sew  like  a  lady,"  she 
said,  "  or  the  stitches  won't  hold  together.  Didn't 
you  ever  hear  that  ?  " 

No,  we  never  had  heard  it ;  but  we  had  begun  to 
understand  that  most  of  the  things  she  said  were 


**  Over  this  riot  of  basting  and  what   Titania   called  f  gobbling', 
Grandma  reigned  with  eager  pleasure.' ' 


Turkey  Red  199 

beautiful  nonsense,  and  that  suited  us.  We  had  al- 
ways thought  far  too  much  sense  was  talked.  Over 
this  riot  of  basting  and  what  Titania  called  "  gob- 
bling", Grandma  reigned  with  an  eager  pleasure, 
and  it  seemed  almost  no  time  before  we  had  a  red 
cape  and  hood  roughly  tacked  together  and  ready 
for  the  play. 

"  Now,"  said  Titania,  when  we  had  tied  it  on  for 
the  last  time,  with  a  strip  of  turkey  red  under 
Ruth's  chin,  "  now  we  must  learn  our  parts ;  we  can 
rehearse  this  evening." 

"  Why,"  said  Marcia,  "is  it  a  real  play?" 

I  hadn't  seen  Marcia  so  excited.  Real  plays,  she 
thought,  were  the  most  wonderful  things  in  the  en- 
tire world.  When  travelling  companies  came  to  the 
village  hall,  Uncle  Terry  always  took  her  to  see 
them  act,  and  once,  after  a  particularly  thrilling 
performance  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin ",  she  had 
sent  Little  Eva  a  bead  bracelet. 

"  Of  course  it's  a  real  play,"  said  Titania. 
"  We've  got  to  write  it  first.  So  I  think  we'd  better 
sit  down  now  and  talk  it  over." 

We  went  down  to  the  sitting  room,  and  there  was 
Uncle  Terry  with  his  newspaper.  He  got  up  when 
we  went  into  the  room,  and  waited  until  we  were 


200  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

seated  in  a  circle  round  the  fire.  He  didn't  look  at 
us,  and  I  thought  he  seemed  very  queer,  his  eyes 
were  so  black  and  his  face  was  so  pale.  He  laid 
down  his  paper  and  took  a  step  or  two  toward  the 
door,  and  Grandma  called  him. 

"Terry,"  said  she.  Then  he  stopped,  and 
Grandma  said,  quite  softly :  "  Terry,  I  wish  you 
would  sit  down  and  help  us  a  little.  Miss  Delorme 
is  teaching  the  children  how  to  act  a  play  and  — 
Terry,  please  be  a  good  boy." 

I  am  not  sure  that  anybody  heard  this  last,  any- 
body but  Uncle  Terry  and  me.  It  was  a  quick 
little  breathless  cry  to  him,  and  Uncle  Terry  in- 
stantly stepped  back,  set  a  chair  for  her  and  took 
one  himself  just  outside  our  circle.  He  picked 
up  his  newspaper  again,  and  left  it  lying  on  his 
knee. 

"  Command  me,"  he  said  to  Grandma,  very  seri- 
ously, and  in  a  tone  I  never  had  heard  him  use. 

Titania  didn't  seem  to  notice  him  at  all.  She 
began  talking  to  us. 

"  Now  the  first  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  select  a 
manager  to  stage  the  play  —  " 

"That's  you,"  said  Marcia. 

"  Well,  that's  I,  if  you  say  so,  this  time.     Then 


Turkey  Red  201 

we'll  cast  the  play.  Ruth  is  to  be  Red  Riding 
Hood,  I  understand,  and  this  is  my  idea  of  the 
entire  cast.  Laura  can  be  the  Mother  here  at  the 
house,  to  start  Riding  Hood  out  with  her  pat  of 
butter  and  her  loaf  of  bread.  Now,  of  course,  the 
woods  Riding  Hood  had  to  go  through  were  real 
woods,  —  deep  woods,  dangerous  woods,  —  or  there 
couldn't  have  been  wolves  in  them." 

Ruth  drew  a  long  breath.  She  saw  herself  on  a 
thrilling  adventure  with  her  butter  and  her  bread. 

"And  I've  no  doubt  whatever,"  said  Titania, 
"  that  lots  of  things  happened  to  her  in  the  woods 
that  didn't  get  put  down  in  the  story.  So  I  should 
say  she'd  have  to  meet  with  a  bear  at  the  very  least, 
and  Marcia  can  play  the  Bear.  And  she'd  meet 
with  the  Wolf,  and  that  can  be  Kay.  I  wish  we 
could  have  a  Forester  for  Red  Riding  Hood's 
father." 

"  We  could  !  "  cried  Marcia  and  Kay.  "  There's 
Flutino." 

"  Of  course ! "  said  Titania,  "  the  very  thing." 
So  we  saw  Grandma  or  Aunt  Tabitha  or  somebody 
must  have  told  her  about  Flutino,  too.  "  And  you, 
Grandmother  Lady,"  said  Titania,  "must  be  the 
Good  Fairy  in  the  Wood." 


202  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  No,  dear,  no,"  said  Grandma.  "  I  love  to  hear 
you  plan  it,  but  Til  just  look  on." 

Still,  she  was  pleased.  We  saw  that,  and  we  all 
begged  and  teased  her  to  be  the  Fairy,  and  at  last 
she  said  she  would.  And  Uncle  Terry  had  been 
left  out.  I  was  sorry  for  that,  but  I  remembered 
that  he  was  a  grown-up  gentleman,  and  such  things 
might  seem  quite  silly  to  him.  Still,  there  was  the 
night  when  he  had  talked  to  us  about  the  Alives. 

And  just  then  the  postman  came  and  brought 
three  letters.  One  was  for  Grandma  and  two  were 
for  us,  and  Grandma's  letter  and  one  of  ours  were 
addressed  in  the  same  hand,  an  upright,  powerful 
hand.  I  had  gone  to  the  door  and  taken  them 
from  the  postman,  and  I  gave  ours  to  Marcia. 

"  Crandma !  "  said  she,  when  she  saw  the  writing 
that  was  like  the  one  to  Grandma,  and  we  felt  a 
little  dashed.     We  had  forgotten  Crandma. 

Titania  had  gone  to  the  piano  and  was  beginning 
a  little  dancing  song,  very  softly,  and  Uncle  Terry 
had  thrown  down  his  paper  and  was  staring  at  her 
back.  His  mouth  was  shut  tight,  and  he  was 
scowling;  yet  he  didn't  look  angry.  He  looked 
queer  in  some  way  I  couldn't  understand,  and  as  if 
somehow  he  wasn't  having  a  pleasant  time.     Marcia 


Turkey  Red  203 

got  up,  and  softly  dog's-nosed  us,  one  after  the 
other,  and  we  slipped  quietly  upstairs  with  our 
letters.  We  went  into  my  room  and  sat  on  the 
bed,  and  opened  Crandma's  letter.  It  was  ad- 
dressed to  "  Marcia,  Katherine,  and  Ruth  Blake, 
and  Laura  Whiteley".  She  had  not  thought  us  old 
enough  to  be  called  cc  Miss  ".  This  was  the  letter. 
Marcia  read  it  aloud. 

"cMy  dear  Grandchildren:  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  send  for  you  quite  yet,  because  your  Grand- 
father apparently  objects  to  having  you  in  the  house. 
He  does  not  give  that  as  a  reason,  but  I  have  told 
him  the  entire  story  of  your  being  out  all  night, 
etc.,  etc.,  and  he  is  naturally  disinclined  to  under- 
take the  responsibility  of  regulating  your  conduct. 
However,  I  have  assured  him  that  I  am  equal  to  it, 
though  it  is  not  a  duty  I  crave.  In  the  meantime, 
if  you  tell  the  entire  story  of  your  misdemeanor  to 
your  Step-Grandmother,  I  can  assure  you  that 
every  one  will  feel  very  differently  toward  you. 
Your  affectionate  Grandmother, 

" c  Susan  Livingston/  " 

"  Oh  ! "  said  Marcia,  in  a  blank  kind  of  way,  and 
we  three  said  "  oh  ",  after  her.  It  seemed  all  there 
was  to  say.     Kay   took  up  the  other   letter  from 


204  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Marcia's  lap.  It  was  addressed  in  a  fine  neat  hand 
with  plenty  of  "  misses  "  :  "  The  Misses  Marcia, 
Kay,  and  Ruth  Blake,  and  Miss  Laura  Whiteley." 
It  was  a  big  envelope,  and  there  was  a  business 
stamp  up  in  the  corner. 

"  Why,"  said  Kay,  "  it's  Just  Grandpa." 

She  tore  it  open,  and  began  to  read  very  fast :  for 
the  neat  little  hand  was  easy. 

"cDear  Ladies:  Yours  of  the  17th  rec'd  and 
contents  noted.  Would  say  that  I  have  done  all 
in  human  power  to  secure  a  reprieve,  but  shall 
probably  not  be  able  to  bring  about  the  commuta- 
tion of  your  sentence.  Unless  you  turn  state's 
evidence,  some  of  you,  or  all  of  you  confess  to  your 
That-Grandma  (whom  it  is  plain  you  have  treated 
like  the  very  Old  Nick)  your  This-Grandma,  who 
is  writing  to  you  at  her  desk  at  the  moment,  will 
be  on  your  track,  and  quite  right,  too.  I  have 
written  to  your  Uncle  Terry  for  his  account  of  the 
case,  and  I  agree  with  him  that  you  are  Lawless 
Imps,  and  I  wouldn't  have  you  here  for  a  million 
dollars,  unless  I  had  cages  or  lobster  pots  to  put 
you  in.  (I  mention  the  lobster  pots  to  remind 
Laura  of  home.) '  " 

"  What  are  lobster  pots  ?  "  Kay  stopped  to  ask 


Turkey  Red  205 

me,  and  I  was  so  pleased,  even  at  the  mention  of 
them,  that  I  could  only  giggle  and  not  explain  ;  so 
Kay  mildly  said  "  Goonie ! "  and  went  on. 

" c  I  shall  not  be  able  to  defer  your  sentence  much 
longer,  and  if  you  do  come  here  to  stay,  I  can  assure 
you  you'll  live  on  bread  and  water  and  be  basti- 
nadoed every  night/  " 

That  word  we  had  great  trouble  with,  and  Ruth 
promised,  if  we'd  "  finish  the  letter  quick  ",  to  go 
and  look  it  up. 

"  c  So  no  more  at  present  from  your  furious  Just 
Grandpa. 

"  c  P.S.  I  should  be  as  pleased  as  Punch  to  have 
you  here,  but  don't  you  know  you're  in  clover 
where  you  are  ?  Don't  you  know  your  That- 
Grandma  is  a  perfect  angel  to  you,  and  we're  all 
Ogres  over  here  ?  You're  Idiots,  that's  what  you 
are.     You've  got  Idiotica.'  " 

We  were  very  thoughtful  when  we'd  finished. 

"  He  doesn't  understand,  that's  all,"  said  Marcia. 
"  If  we  could  just  see  him  and  talk  with  him  a 
minute,  he  would,  but  you  can't  do  anything  in 
letters.  And  I  don't  see  then  how  we  could  tell 
him  what  we  can't  tell  unless  we  told  —  and  we 
can't  tell." 


CHAPTER  XII 

RED    RIDING    HOOD 

FOR  the  next  few  days  we  did  nothing  but 
think  and  plan  Red  Riding  Hood,  and 
Titania  told  us  we  could  get  along  a  little  in 
our  lessons  if  we  talked  about  it  in  French.  Of 
course  we  thought  that  was  impossible,  but  she 
explained  she  only  meant  little  remarks  like,  "  Pass 
the  scissors,  syil  vous  plait  ",  or  "  How  can  we  fasten 
in  the  Wolfs  teeth  ? "  And  it  was  surprisingly 
easy ;  for  she  was  ready  to  tell  us  exactly  how  every- 
thing was  said,  and  we  were  quick  to  imitate.  It 
didn't  seem  like  studying  at  all :  only  something  we 
were  doing  to  please  her  and  make  her  feel  she  was 
really  taking  Amy  Fullerton's  place.  That,  we  felt, 
was  tremendously  necessary :  for  if  she  thought  she 
was  of  no  use,  and  went  away,  we  should  be  the 
most  desolate  Tribe  on  the  trail. 

It  was  one  of  the  first  days  of  our  working  on 
the  costumes  that  Flutino  came  whistling  up  the 
walk,  and,  finding   nobody  downstairs,  kept  on  to 

206 


Red  Riding  Hood  207 

the  sewing  room ;  and  there,  the  minute  he  saw 
Titania,  he  made  her  his  dancing  school  bow,  and 
at  the  same  minute  we  all  cried :  — 
"  Here's  Flutino.  Hullo,  Flutino  !  " 
The  strange  part  of  it  was  that  the  dancing  school 
bow  that  had  seemed  so  silly  in  the  village  hall 
appeared  quite  the  right  thing  to  greet  Titania,  and 
she  answered  it  prettily,  and  told  Flutino  he  had 
been  cast  for  the  Forester.  He  was  delighted,  and 
sat  down  at  once  to  talk  over  his  part,  and  offered 
eager  suggestions  about  the  way  to  make  the  Wolf 
open  his  mouth.  We  were  having  a  dreadful  time 
with  that  head.  At  first,  we  made  it  out  of  paste- 
board, cut  in  queer  shapes,  and  stuck  together,  with 
big  holes  for  eyes ;  but  Titania  said  it  looked  like 
a  pig's  snout,  and  we'd  better  keep  it  till  Christmas, 
and  use  it  for  the  boar's  head  to  bring  in  at  the 
banquet  when  we  had  waits  and  wassail.  This 
cheered  us  all  greatly,  in  spite  of  Crandma's  letter, 
for  it  looked  as  if  Titania  meant  to  be  with  us  until 
Christmas,  anyway. 

Uncle  Terry  stood  looking  on,  one  day,  in  the 
hall,  when  we  brought  the  Wolf's  head  down  to 
show  it  to  Grandma.  He  was  very  solemn  and 
even  very  stern  these  days,  "  black  as  pot ",  Marcia 


208  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

said,  and  this  time  his  face  didn't  change  at  all ;  but 
when  he  had  gone  back  into  the  sitting  room  I  saw 
him  smiling  to  himself,  in  a  queer  way,  and  he  got 
out  a  newspaper,  and  unfolded  it,  and  sat  down 
behind  it,  and  seemed  to  be  reading  very  hard. 
But  I  knew  from  a  picture  I  had  seen  in  it  the  day 
before  that  it  was  last  week's  paper.  Grandma, 
too,  was  discouraged  about  the  Wolf's  head  though 
she  laughed  a  little,  as  we  all  did.  You  couldn't 
help  it,  it  was  so  funny. 

"  I'll  tell  you,  dear,"  she  said  to  Titania,  "what  I 
think  you'd  better  do.  There  are  some  old  wire 
bonnets  up  attic.  Couldn't  we  make  a  shape  out 
of  those,  and  perhaps  cover  it  with  the  fitch  fur 
you  saw  ?  Or,  even  if  that's  too  clumsy,  try  that 
old  brown  velvet  ?  " 

So  we  changed  our  plan  entirely,  and  went  to 
work  with  the  wire  and  fur.  And  when  that  head 
was  done,  it  was  so  funny  that  we  got  down  on  the 
floor  and  rolled  and  screamed,  we  four  of  the  Tribe, 
and  Titania  and  Grandmother  cried,  they  laughed 
so  hard.  Uncle  Terry  saw  it,  too,  and  he  got  his 
hat  and  went  out  of  doors  as  fast  as  he  could  go. 
He  seemed  to  be  determined,  those  days,  not  to 
laugh  at  anything,  and   not  to  speak  either,  if  he 


Red  Riding  Hood  209 

could  help  it.     I  thought  he  was  behaving  dread- 
fully, and  yet  I  was  sorry  for  him.     It  seemed  as  if 
he  wasn't  well.      But  the   night    before   the   play, 
something  happened.      The  expressman  came  with 
a    big    box  addressed    to  us,  our  four  names  with 
"The  Misses"  before  them.     Marcia  got  a  ham- 
mer and  flew  at  the  box  while  it  stood  in  the  hall, 
and  had  the  cover  off  in  no  time ;    and  then,  while 
we  all  crowded  round,  she  pulled  out  wad  after  wad 
of  soft  tissue  paper  and  uncovered  —  what  do  you 
think?      The  most  frightful  and  magnificent  wolf's 
head  you  ever  saw,  with  red  tongue  and  grinning 
teeth  and  staring  eyes.     It  was  big  enough,  too,  to 
slip  on  over  our  heads ;  and  when  Marcia  saw  that, 
she  clapped  it  on  Kay's  head  and  we  all  screamed, 
with  wonder  and  delight.      All  but  Ruth :    I  think 
her  scream  was  terror,  —  for  the  wolf  that  was  part 
Kay  really  did  look  very  awful  indeed,  and  I  began 
to   think,   now   Riding   Hood    had   seen   him,   she 
wouldn't  have  courage  to  go  through  the  Wood  at 
all.      Titania   was    as    pleased    as    we.      Her   eyes 
shone,  and  while  we  were  dancing  round    Kay,  to 
get  a  view  of  it  from  every  side,  Titania  slipped 
into  the  sitting  room  where  Uncle  Terry  was  fold- 
ing the  rattling  paper    he  always  seemed    to    have 


2IO  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

by  him  nowadays,  and  said  to  him,  in  such  a  nice 
way  :  — 

*  You  did  that.     Thank  you." 

But  he  didn't  have  to  answer,  even  if  he  meant 
to :  for  as  soon  as  she  had  said  it,  she  was  back  with 
us,  showing  Kay  how  to  work  the  string  and  make 
the  jaws  move  while  the  Wolf  talked. 

The  next  day  was  bright  and  rather  warm,  and 
we  had  an  early  dinner,  so  that  the  play  could  begin 
at  two.  Titania  said  we'd  better  have  it  as  soon  as 
that,  because,  if  we  liked  it,  we  might  do  it  over 
several  times  before  dark.  There  was  one  difficulty. 
We  were  all  in  the  play,  and  yet  we  all  wanted  to 
see  it.  So  it  was  decided  that,  after  each  one  had 
finished  her  part,  she  should  be  allowed  to  go  along 
with  the  next  actor  and  listen.  Only  she  must,  on 
no  account,  speak  a  word.  We  called  that  being 
Invisible.  So  this  was  what  happened.  At  two 
o'clock  precisely,  I  came  down  the  front  stairs 
dressed  in  one  of  Grandma's  gowns,  with  a  big  white 
fichu  crossed  at  the  neck.  My  hair  was  powdered 
white,  and  on  it  I  wore  a  big  cap  made  of  a  large 
blue  handkerchief.  I  had  horn  spectacles  with  no 
glass  in  them,  and  I  made  a  very  nice  Mother 
indeed.     Perhaps  I  was  a  little  too  old  for  Mother 


Red  Riding  Hood  211 

Riding  Hood,  but  I  liked  it  that  way.  Grandma 
and  Mary  and  all  the  actors  were  in  the  sitting 
room,  crowded  near  the  door,  to  see  the  beginning 
of  the  play.  I  opened  my  cottage  door  —  for  the 
big  house  was  a  cottage  to-day  —  and  began  to 
sweep  the  dust  over  the  sill. 

"  Riding  Hood  !  "  I  called,  in  a  voice  as  high  and 
weak  and  old  ladyfied  as  I  could  make  it.  "  Riding 
Hood,  come  here." 

Then  Ruth  appeared  from  the  dining  room.  She 
looked  a  very  little  girl  indeed,  much  smaller  than 
she  did  every  day  :  for  she  wore  her  hair  loose,  and 
a  pinafore  came  to  her  neck.  Crandma's  new 
aprons  were  finding  early  use. 

"  Riding  Hood,"  said  I,  "  your  dear  Grandmother 
is  sick.  I  want  you  to  take  her  this  little  basket, 
and  ask  very  particularly  how  she  is." 

"  Yes,  Mother,"  said  Riding  Hood,  making  me  a 
little  courtesy.  "  Is  it  eggs  in  the  basket,  and  must 
I  be  sure  not  to  fall  down  ? " 

"  It  is  not  eggs,"  said  I.  "  It  is  a  pat  of  butter 
and  a  loaf  of  bread.  But  even  if  it  isn't  eggs,  you 
must  be  as  careful  as  if  it  were." 

"Yes,  Mother,"  said  Riding  Hood. 

u  Go  by  the  high  road,"  said  I.     "  Do  not  look 


212  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

into  the  Wood,  for  if  you  do,  you  may  see  something 
you  want,  and  that  will  tempt  you  to  step  over  the 
wall." 

"  No,  Mother,"  said  Riding  Hood. 

"  Do  not  look  into  the  Wood.  Do  not  step  one 
step  into  the  Wood.  Now  get  your  cape  and  hood, 
and  I  will  tie  them  on." 

So  Riding  Hood  took  down  her  red  cape  from  a 
nail  near  the  cottage  door,  and  I  put  it  on  for  her, 
and  drew  the  hood  up  over  her  head,  and  gave  her 
the  little  basket,  and  she  set  forth,  down  the  cottage 
steps,  into  the  River  Road :  for  that  was  the  high- 
way. And  I  threw  a  cape  over  my  shoulders,  and 
took  my  dress  up,  and  started  after  to  see  what  she 
would  do  next ;  but  the  others,  who  came  into  the 
play  later,  went  the  other  way  through  the  Planta- 
tion. 

Riding  Hood  walked  dutifully  along  the  high- 
way, looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left, 
until  she  came  to  the  space  between  two  houses, 
where  you  could  glance  through  a  three-barred  fence 
to  the  trees  of  the  Plantation.  There  she  stopped, 
and  looked  once  and  looked  again,  and  soon  her 
little  feet  began  to  carry  her  away  from  the  high 
road  toward  the  fence ;  and  when  she  reached  it,  she 


Red  .Riding  Hood  213 

"scooched"  down  and  ducked  under.  There  she 
was  in  the  Wood,  the  "  Dark  and  Dreadful  Wood  ". 
I  "  scooched  "  after  her,  and  stood  there  behind  her  in 
my  cloak,  Invisible.  We  were  playingso  hard  that  the 
Plantation  didn't  look  at  all  as  if  I  had  ever  seen  it 
before.  I  was  almost  afraid,  it  was  such  a  Dark  and 
Dreadful  Wood.  Riding  Hood  walked  a  little  way, 
and  then  she  stopped.  She  had  reached  what  she  had 
seen  from  the  road.  It  had  tempted  her  into  the  for- 
bidden Wood.'  It  was  a  glittering  crown  made  of 
silver  leaves  and  beads  that  were  like  pearls,  and  it 
was  hanging  on  a  baby  maple  tree.  Riding  Hood 
put  up  her  little  hand  and  took  it  off  the  tree.  She 
touched  it  tremblingly,  because  she  knew  she  had 
no  business  in  the  Wood,  and  she  was  afraid.  She 
hid  the  silver  crown  under  her  red  cloak,  and  went 
timidly  on.  Suddenly  she  stopped.  She  listened. 
A  loud  voice  was  singing  to  the  sound  of  an  axe.  I 
knew  it  was  Flutino's  voice,  and  yet  it  didn't  sound 
like  it  at  all.  It  sounded  like  the  voice  of  a  tall 
man  in  high  boots,  and  a  soft  hat  with  a  feather  in 
it,  such  as  you  see  in  fairy  books.  When  Riding 
Hood  heard  the  voice,  she  stopped  and  called, 
"  Father  !  Father  !  "  for  she  knew  who  it  was.  But 
the  voice  went  on  singing,  and  it  seemed  to  be  not 


214  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

quite  so  near.  The  Forester  had  not  heard.  But 
something  else  had.  There  was  a  trampling  and  a 
crackling  in  the  underbrush,  and  Riding  Hood  stood 
there  trembling  with  fear.  Well  she  might!  For 
out  came  a  figure  all  fur  from  head  to  foot  and  with 
a  furry  snout.  This,  I  had  expected  to  be  Marcia 
in  Uncle  Terry's  fur  coat  and  cap,  and  a  mask  Flu- 
tino  had  painted ;  but  now  I  saw  it  in  the  Dreadful 
Wood,  it  looked  quite  different  to  me,  and  I  knew 
it  was  a  bear.  It  dropped  to  all  fours,  and  came 
padding  along  to  Riding  Hood  over  the  rustling 
leaves,  and  Riding  Hood  was  so  terrified  she 
couldn't  run.     She  stood  still  and  shivered. 

"Ho!  ho!"  said  the  Bear,  "who's  this  in  my 
Wood,  eating  up  my  honey  and  drinking  the  water 
out  of  my  spring  ?  " 

"  Please,  sir,"  said  Riding  Hood,  "  I  am  going  to 
Grandma's,  to  carry  her  a  pat  of  butter  and  a  loaf  of 
bread." 

The  Bear  rose  on  his  hind  legs  and  put  a  paw  on 
her  arm.  I  had  thought  this  was  Uncle  Terry's  fur 
glove,  but  I  declare  it  looked  to  me  now  like  a  big, 
big  paw. 

"You've  got  honey  in  that  basket,"  said  the 
Bear. 


Red  Riding  Hood  215 

"  No,  sir,  no,"  said  Riding  Hood.  "  It's  only  a 
pat  of  butter  and  a  loaf  of  bread." 

"  We'll  see,"  said  the  Bear.  "  We'll  see.  Come 
with  me,  and  when  we're  in  my  den,  all  snug  and 
warm,  and  my  little  bear  children  and  my  middle- 
sized  bear  children  are  opening  the  basket  and  pulling 
off  your  red  hood  and  snatching  out  your  long  hair, 

Ml  M 

we  11  see. 

Riding  Hood  looked  ready  to  drop  to  the  ground. 
The  Bear  put  out  his  furry  elbow. 

"  Take  my  arm,"  said  he.  "  I'll  carry  the  basket, 
and  we'll  go  home  to  my  den-O  !" 

Riding  Hood  stretched  out  her  little  hand  tim- 
idly ;  but  suddenly  the  Bear  turned  his  head  and 
listened. 

"  Now,  what's  she  doing  round  here  ? "  he  growled, 
and  I  looked  in  the  same  direction,  and  saw  the 
most  lovely  figure,  all  in  white  and  silver,  coming 
through  the  trees.  I  had  thought  it  was  going  to 
be  Grandma  in  Titania's  white  fur  coat  and  a  white 
veil  spangled  with  silver  falling  from  her  white  hair ; 
but  instead  it  looked  to  me  like  a  fairy  creature  made 
out  of  moonlight  and  ice  and  gems. 

"Who's  got  my  crown?"  it  sang.  "Who's  got 
my  silver  crown  ?  " 


216  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Riding  Hood  took  the  crown  from  under  her  cape. 

"  I'm  very  sorry,  ma'am/'  said  she.  H  I'm  afraid 
I  took  it.     Here  it  is.     I  found  it  on  a  tree." 

Meantime  the  Bear  had  dropped  on  all  fours, 
and  was  beginning  to  shamble  away ;  but  the  Fairy 
pointed  her  wand  at  him,  and  he  stopped  just  as  he 
was,  one  paw  lifted  ready  to  put  down. 

"  You  shouldn't  touch  crowns  when  you  see  them 
hanging  out  to  dry,"  said  the  Fairy.  "  How  would 
you  like  it  if  somebody  came  and  stole  your  wash- 
ing off  the  line,  and  you'd  no  clean  aprons  ?  Should 
you  like  it  ?     Tell  me  now." 

"  No,  ma'am,"  said  Riding  Hood. 

She  began  to  make  courtesies  and  made  them  faster 
and  faster  until  the  Fairy  touched  her  with  the  wand 
and  told  her  to  stop. 

"  You've  no  business  in  the  Dreadful  Wood,  any- 
way," said  the  Fairy.  "  You're  likely  to  meet  all 
sorts  of  people.  Here's  the  Bear,  and  if  you  don't 
look  out,  you'll  come  on  the  Wolf.     Bear !  " 

"Yes,  Good  Fairy,"  said  the  Bear,  grumpily  but 
very  humbly.     "  Please,  Good  Fairy." 

"  Go  home  to  your  den-O." 

"  Yes,  Good  Fairy,  if  you  please,  Good  Fairy," 
and  the  Bear  shuffled  off. 


Red  Riding  Hood  217 

"  Now/'  said  the  Good  Fairy  to  Riding  Hood,  "I 
know  where  you  were  going  when  you  were  so 
naughty  as  to  leave  the  high  road  and  enter  the 
Dreadful  Wood.  The  Wind  told  me.  He  said 
you'd  probably  be  naughty  and  leave  the  road." 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Riding  Hood.  She  began  to 
make  courtesies  again.  "  I'm  going  to  Grandma's,  to 
carry  her  a  pat  of  butter  and  a  loaf  of  bread." 

"Well,"  said  the  Fairy,  "then  go,  and  see  that 
you  go  straight,  right  between  those  two  trees  and 
between  the  next  two  trees  and  the  next  and  the 
next.  And  at  the  end  of  the  trees  you  will  find 
your  Grandmother's  door.  Now  run  along,  for  I 
must  put  my  crown  on,  and  it  makes  me  nervous  to 
be  watched." 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Riding  Hood. 

She  could  not  run,  for  she  was  still  too  weak 
from  fear ;  but  she  went  as  fast  as  she  could,  and 
the  Fairy  put  on  her  crown  and  went  away  to  the 
left,  singing  a  little  song.  It  sounded  like  a  song 
Grandma  used  to  sing  sometimes  over  her  work, 
when  we  had  been  good  all  day ;  yet  it  was  not 
Grandma  and  her  song.  It  was  a  Fairy  and  a  fairy 
song.  Now  I  knew  what  was  coming ;  but  when 
Riding  Hood  had  gone  ten  steps  farther,  and  the 


a  1 8  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Wolf  jumped  out  from  behind  a  tree,  his  eyes 
gleaming  and  his  mouth  wide,  I  gave  a  little  scream 
with  Riding  Hood's. 

"  What  have  you  there,  little  girl  ? "  asked  the 
Wolf. 

"  A  pat  of  butter,  if  you  please,  sir,"  she  an- 
swered, "  and  a  loaf  of  bread." 

"  Where  are  you  going,  little  girl  ?  " 

"  I'm  going  to  my  Grandmother's,  to  ask  her 
how  she  is." 

u  What  shall  you  do,  little  girl,  when  you  get  to 
the  door  ? " 

cc  I  shall  knock,"  said  Riding  Hood. 

"And  what  will  your  Grandmother  say,  little 
girl  ? " 

"  She'll  say,  c  Who  is  there  ? '  " 

"  And  what  shall  you  say  then,  little  girl  ?  " 

«  I  shall  say  c  Red  Riding  Hood.'  " 

"  And  what  will  she  say  then,  little  girl  ? " 

"She'll  say,  c  Pull  at  the  bobbin.  The  latch 
will  fly  up.'  " 

"  Good  day,  little  girl,  "  said  the  Wolf.  "  If  you 
ever  see  your  friend,  the  Good  Fairy,  again,  you 
can  tell  her  Mr.  Bear  saw  me,  a  minute  ago,  and 
told  me  I   was  likely  to    meet  you.     She'd  better 


Red  Riding  Hood  219 

not  have  been  so  strict  with  Mr.  Bear.  Good 
day." 

Away  he  went,  on  all  fours,  and  when  he  had  got 
into  the  shade  of  the  maples,  he  rose  to  his  feet  and 
ran  as  hard  as  he  could  pelt,  and  I  after  him,  leav- 
ing Riding  Hood  alone  in  the  Dreadful  Wood. 
For  I  knew  where  the  next  scene  was  to  be.  I 
made  a  little  circuit,  and  came  out  at  the  side  of  the 
Wigwam  which  was  now  Riding  Hood's  Grand- 
mother's cottage,  and  I  took  up  my  skirts  still 
higher,  and  climbed  in  through  the  window,  and  be- 
gan to  slip  a  night-gown  over  my  dress  and  tie  a 
big  ruffled  night-cap  over  my  hair.  And  then  I 
hid  myself  under  the  bed.  But  in  the  bed  was 
lying  a  long  bolster  with  the  clothes  drawn  up 
to  its  chin,  and  a  night-cap  on  like  mine.  And 
no  sooner  was  I  under  the  bed  than  I  heard  a 
knock. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  I  called. 

"  Red  Riding  Hood, "  came  a  gruff  voice  that 
tried  to  make  itself  smooth  and  small.  "  I  have 
brought  you  a  pat  of  butter  and  a  loaf  of  bread." 

"  Pull  at  the  bobbin,"  I  called.  "  The  latch  will 
fly  up." 

The  door   opened.     There  was  a    stealthy  step. 


220  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Safe  under  the  bed  as  I  was,  I  shivered.  I  knew 
it  was  the  Wolf  with  the  terrible  jaws. 

"Is  that  you,  dear  Riding  Hood?"  I  asked, 
and  so  hard  was  I  playing  that  I  could  believe  it 
was  the  bolster  that  spoke.  "  Come  where  I  can 
see  you,  dear." 

But  suddenly  there  rose  a  most  dreadful  sound 
of  growling  and  banging  and  worrying  and  gulping, 
and  I  knew  the  bolster-grandmother  was  killed  and 
eaten  up,  and  the  bolster  came  sliding  down  on  me 
at  the  back  of  the  bed,  but  without  its  night-cap : 
for  that  the  Wolf  had  on. 

Another  knock  at  the  door. 

"Who's  there?"  called  the  Wolf,  in  a  grand- 
mother voice  as  nearly  as  he  could  make  it. 

"  It's  I,  Grandmamma,  Red  Riding  Hood," 
answered  Riding  Hood's  own  voice.  "  I  have 
come  to  bring  you  a  pat  of  butter  and  a  loaf  of 
bread." 

"Pull  at  the  bobbin,"  called  the  Wolf.  "The 
latch  will  fly  up." 

So  in  came  Riding  Hood,  and  the  Wolf  groaned 
and  said:  — 

"  O  my  child,  I'm  very  ill  indeed  !  Sit  down  by 
me  where  I  can  touch  your  fine  new  cape." 


Red  Riding  Hood  221 

So  Riding  Hood  sat  down;  but  she  began  to 
tremble. 

"O  Grandma/'  said  she,  "what  queer  eyes  you've 
got!" 

"The  better  to  see  you,  my  dear,"  said  the  Wolf. 

Now  Riding  Hood  trembled  more  and  more,  and 
this  was  what  she  said  and  what  the  Wolf  said  to 
her. 

"Grandmamma,  what  great  arms  you've  got!" 

"The  better  to  hug  you,  my  dear." 

"Grandmamma,  what  a  long  nose  you've  got! " 

"  The  better  to  smell  you,  my  dear." 

"  Grandmamma,  what  long  ears  you've  got !  " 

"The  better  to  hear  you,  my  dear." 

"  Grandmamma,  what  great  teeth  you've  got !  " 

"  The  better  to  eat  you  up  !  " 

And  just  as  the  Wolf  said  that,  he  threw  both 
great  arms  round  Riding  Hood  and  drew  her  up 
to  his  dreadful  jaws,  and  she  screamed,  and  the 
door  burst  open,  and  in  dashed  the  Forester,  who 
might  have  looked  like  Flutino  except  that  he  had 
a  long  beard.  And  he  whipped  out  a  knife 
made  of  tin,  and  went  at  the  Wolf,  and  flourished 
the  knife,  and  jabbed  and  prodded,  and  the  Wolf 
rolled  out  of  bed,  and,  once  down  on  the  floor,  he 


222  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

rolled  quite  under  the  bed,  too.  And  we  heard  a 
singing  voice,  and  this  was  the  Good  Fairy  with 
her  wand,  singing  :  — 

"Three  and  three,  and  two  times  two! 

Grandmother  Riding  Hood,  where  are  you  ?  *  * 

But,  of  course,  I  made  no  answer ;  for  had  not 
the  Wolf  eaten  me  ? 

Then  the  voice  came  again,  to  more  waving  of 
the  wand :  — 

"  Six  times  six,  and  eight  times  eight! 

Grandmother  Riding  Hood,  rise  in  state." 

And  somehow  I  crawled  up  under  the  cover  of 
the  bed,  and  everybody  pretended  not  to  see  me ; 
and  I  sat  up  in  bed  in  my  ruffled  night-cap  and 
said :  — 

"  Dear  me !  what  a  dreadful  dream.  I  thought 
my  little  Granddaughter  and  the  Wolf  came  in 
together,  and  they  were  both  very  rude  to  me." 

And  Riding  Hood  ran  forward  and  threw  her 
arms  round  me,  and  the  Good  Fairy  said :  — 

"  I  must  go  now,  and  try  the  Bear  for  conspiracy 
with  the  Wolf;  but  first,  because  it's  almost  dark, 
we'll  have  a  Moon  Beam  in  to  dance  for  us." 

Now  this  was  something  we  didn't  know  about. 


The    most    lovely    figure,    all    silver    gauze    and    floating 
draperies.' ' 


Red  Riding  Hood  223 

We  actors  thought  the  play  ended  with  the  Grand- 
mother's return  to  life.  So  we  looked  about  to 
see  what  we  should  see.  And  in  at  the  door  and 
from  behind  the  big  screen  Titania  had  placed  near 
it,  came  the  most  lovely  figure,  all  silver  gauze  and 
floating  draperies,  with  a  circlet  of  silver  round  its 
head.  And  it  rose  on  the  toes  of  its  white 
slippered  feet,  and  began  to  dance,  and  to  scatter 
the  petals  of  white  flowers,  all  the  time  singing  in 
a  high  beautiful  voice.  The  flower  petals  were 
pieces  of  tissue  paper,  but  they  looked  exactly  like 
petals  to  us,  or  even  like  floating  snow,  and  cer- 
tainly we  had  never  in  all  our  lives  seen  anything 
so  beautiful  as  the  dancing  form.  And  once,  the 
only  time  I  could  take  my  eyes  away  from  it,  I 
looked  at  the  window,  because  I  heard  a  little 
sound  there ;  and  I  saw  Uncle  Terry's  face  at  the 
pane.  But  as  my  eyes  met  his,  he  shook  his  head 
a  little,  and  I  knew  I  mustn't  speak  or  look. 
The  Moon  Beam  danced  in  big  circles  nearer  and 
nearer  the  door,  until  suddenly  she  disappeared 
behind  the  big  screen,  and  the  Good  Fairy  went  in 
there,  too,  and  we  heard  her  say :  — 

"  Yes,  dear,  you  put  on  the  arctics.     Put  them 
right  straight  on.     And  here's  your  cloak." 


224  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Then  we  heard  the  door  close  softly,  and  we 
knew  the  Good  Fairy  and  the  Moon  Beam  had 
gone  out  into  the  Dreadful  Wood.  It  seemed 
exactly  that :  not  at  all  as  if  Titania  and  the  Grand- 
mother had  run  home  in  a  hurry,  so  Titania 
shouldn't  take  cold.  We  didn't  want  to  follow 
them — not  yet,  at  least.  We  wanted  rather  to 
imagine  them  flitting  along  through  the  Wood, 
Titania  still  dancing  and  the  Good  Fairy  waving  her 
wand  and  calling  Mr.  Bear  to  judgment,  and  light- 
ing all  the  Wood  with  her  silver  crown. 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Marcia,  with  a  long  breath. 

I  looked  at  her.  Her  eyes  were  dark  with 
happiness. 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Kay.     "  Don't  you  call  this  grand  ?  " 

We  did.  If  there  had  been  a  grander  word,  we 
should  have  called  it  that. 

Flutino  never  forgot  his  manners.  He  stood 
there  by  the  fireplace,  his  hat,  with  the  pheasant 
feather,  in  his  hand. 

"  I  think  you  all  act  just  splendid,"  he  said.  "  I 
guess  when  Marcia  goes  on  the  stage  we'll  all  go. 
There  were  the  Vokeses,  you  know.  We'll  take  a 
name  and  be  that." 

We    looked    at   one    another   slyly,  and  smiled. 


Red  Riding  Hood  225 

We  knew  what  we  should  be.  We  should  be  the 
Tribe.  Perhaps  Flutino  could  come  in.  At  least, 
if  he  ever  guessed  there  was  a  Tribe,  he  could. 
We'd  said  that  before. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


FAIRY    WALKS 


IT  was  perhaps  the  next  day  that  we  had  our 
talk  about  Uncle  Terry,  and  Ruth  was 
"  horrid "  and  the  other  three  of  us  "  got 
mad  ".  The  Grandmother  and  Titania  were  in  the 
Grandmother's  room,  looking  over  clothes.  We 
had  followed  them  there,  and  hung  about  for  a  few 
minutes  while  Titania  said  :  — 

"  Now  I  think  I  should  make  over  this  gray 
with  a  little  silver  embroidery,  and  perhaps  some 
fringe.     It  would  be  sweet." 

Grandma  seemed  pleased,  but  she  answered :  — 

"  O  my  dear,  I  don't  know !  At  my  time  of 
life ! " 

We  saw  they  were  quite  taken  up  with  fringes 
and  things,  and  not  likely  to  notice  us,  and  Kay 
said :  — 

"What  let's  do?" 

"  Come  downstairs,"  said  Ruth.  "  Come  just  as 
quiet  as  ever  you  can,  and  I'll  show  you  something." 

226 


Fairy  Walks  227 

It  sounded  like  kittens,  or  birds,  or  things  that 
mustn't  be  scared,  and  we  tiptoed  down.  I 
happened  to  look  at  Ruth,  and  I  could  see  she  was 
either  frightened  or  pleased,  or  thought  she  was 
naughty,  her  eyes  were  so  bright  and  her  cheeks  so 
red.  She  led  us  into  the  library  where  we  could 
see  the  back  veranda. 

"  There  !  "  said  she.     "  Look." 

It  was  nothing  but  Uncle  Terry  walking  back  and 
forth.  His  hands  were  behind  him,  his  head  was 
bent,  and  he  was  staring  straight  down  at  the 
veranda  floor. 

"  There ! "  said  Ruth,  as  if  she'd  done  some- 
thing remarkably  clever.     "  Look  at  him  !  " 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Kay,  "  it's  only  Uncle  Terry." 

"Well,"  said  Ruth,  "don't  you  see  what  he's 
doing?" 

"Why,  he's  walking,"  said  Kay,  "and  thinking, 
I  s'pose. 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth  again,  this  time  in  high 
triumph,  "but  don't  you  know  what  he's  thinking 
about  ? " 

"No,"  said  Kay,  "do  you?" 

And  Marcia  added  :  — 

"What  is  he?" 


228  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Why,"  said  Ruth,  "  he's  thinking  about  her." 

Ruth's  eyes  were  all  ablaze  now.  She  seemed  to 
find  her  discovery  very  interesting  indeed. 

"  His  wife  ?  "  Kay  asked. 

"No,  no,"  said  Ruth,  "about  Titania.  Don't 
you  see?     He's  in  love  with  Titania." 

We  turned  and  looked  at  her,  and  Uncle  Terry, 
quite  ignorant  that  he  had  created  such  an  excite- 
ment, kept  on  pacing. 

"In  love  with  Titania?"  Marcia  gasped. 
"What  do  you  mean?  Why,  he  hardly  speaks 
to  her." 

"  I  know  that,"  said  Ruth,  "  but  he  looks  at  her 
every  minute  when  she  isn't  looking." 

I  didn't  say  anything,  because  Uncle  Terry  had 
shaken  his  head  at  me  when  I  caught  him  watching 
her  while  she  danced. 

"  That's  the  way  they  do,"  said  Ruth,  "  the  stern, 
proud  ones  that  had  never  thought  to  bow  their 
haughty  spirits,  or  place  their  fate  in  the  hands  of 
any  woman.  They  just  stay  stern  and  cold,  and 
you  can  read  their  feelings  in  their  eyes." 

"  Ruth,"  said  Marcia,  "  you're  a  horrid  little 
thing." 

"Horrid,  yourself!"  cried  Kay. 


Fairy  Walks  229 

She  had  thought  it  as  silly  as  Marcia  did,  but 
she  couldn't  see  Ruth  abused. 

"  I'm  not  horrid  at  all,"  said  Ruth.  She  was 
winking  away  the  tears,  and  now  her  cheeks  were 
redder.  "That's  the  way  it  is.  The  books  say 
so.  If  you're  proud  and  haughty,  and  fall  in  love 
with  anybody,  you  just  go  round  stamping  and 
grinding  your  teeth." 

Marcia  seemed  to  find  some  reason  in  this. 

"  Well,  anyway,"  said  she,  "  if  he's  going  to  do 
that,  we'd  better  tell  Titania  all  about  it." 

Ruth  was  aghast. 

"Why,  you  can't!"  said  she.  "He'll  tell  her 
himself.  He'll  tell  her  he  never  meant  to  place 
his  fate  in  any  woman's  hands,  but  now  he  finds 
he  is  under  her  feet  —  his  heart,  I  mean  —  and  —  " 

"  O  lambs'  tails  and  cats'  ears ! "  said  Marcia. 
This  was  one  of  her  favorite  expressions  when 
she  felt  very  strongly  on  a  subject  and  couldn't 
find  the  answer  to  it.  "  Titania's  got  to  be  told. 
He  can't  act  like  that  and  not  have  her  prepared 
so's  to  know  what  to  do.  Why,  I  think  it's  treat- 
ing her  awfully,  and  if  you  think  it's  all  so,  Ruth, 
I  should  s'pose  you'd  be  ashamed  to  let  it  go  on. 
And  you  are  a  horrid  thing." 


230  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Just  at  that  moment  Titania  appeared  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs.  She  was  singing,  and  she  came 
down  singing,  and  said  to  us,  when  she  reached 
us,  just  what  she  had  heard  Kay  say  two  or  three 
minutes  before :  — 

"  What  let's  do  now  ?  " 

I  think  she  saw  from  our  faces  that  we'd  been 
having  trouble  of  some  sort,  and  because  Marcia 
looked  the  nearest  to  being  angry,  she  put  a  hand 
on  her  shoulder,  and  said  again :  — 

"  Marcia,  what  let's  do  ?  " 

Perhaps  Marcia  couldn't  have  said  it  if  she  had 
waited  a  minute  to  think  it  over;  but  now  she 
looked  straight  at  Titania,  half  as  if  she  were 
angry  about  something  and  half  as  if  she  were  going 
to  cry,  and  asked  her :  — 

"  Did  you  know  about  Uncle  Terry's  wife  ?  " 

I  never  saw  a  face  change  so  quickly  as  Titania's 
then.  The  pretty  color  left  it,  and  the  smile.  She 
answered  seriously  :  — 

"  Come  in  here  and  tell  me  what  you  mean. 
What  is  it  about  Uncle  Terry's  wife  ?  " 

We  went  with  her  to  the  sitting  room,  and  I 
believe  we  all  felt  we  had  begun  on  something  we 
didn't  know  how  to  finish.    We  had  gone  Too  Far. 


Fairy  Walks  231 

But  Marcia,  when  it  was  a  question  of  courage, 
never  took  back  tracks. 

"  Uncle  Terry's  married,  that's  all,"  she  said. 
"His  wife  died." 

Titania  looked  at  her  for  a  full  minute,  gravely, 
and  I  could  see  that  Marcia  was  most  uncomfort- 
able. Titania  looked  at  us  each  in  turn,  as  if 
she  must  really  understand  what  was  in  our  minds. 
Then  she  spoke,  in  a  low,  sad  tone. 

"  Did  she  ?     Poor  wife  !     I'm  sorry  for  her." 

And  she  went  out  of  the  room  and  up  the  stairs 
again  to  her  own  chamber.  We  were  left  to  gape 
at  one  another  and  wonder. 

"  Well,"  said  Kay,  at  last,  "  you've  done  it, 
haven't  you  ? " 

Marcia  looked  as  if  she  knew  she  had,  but  she 
answered  hotly :  — 

"  I  don't  see  what  I've  done." 

We  didn't  either,  but  we  had  to  blame  some- 
body. Ruth  was  pluming  herself  a  little  on  having 
been  so  clever. 

"  Of  course  she  had  to  turn  away,"  said  she. 
"  Now  she  knows  he  is  bound  to  Another  and 
never  can  be  hers." 

"  Ruth,"  said  Marcia,  again,  "  you're  a  horrid 
little  thing." 


232  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

We  turned  about  and  left  her,  and  then  when 
we  had  got  into  the  dining  room,  we  felt  that 
somehow  we  had  all  been  rather  meddlesome  and 
unpleasant,  and  we  didn't  like  one  another's  com- 
pany any  more  than  we  liked  Ruth's.  So  I  ran 
up  to  my  room  and  began  to  read  a  fairy  book 
we  called  "  Little  Black  Book ",  from  its  binding, 
and  pretty  soon  I  saw  Marcia  in  the  yard  with 
Pete,  teaching  him  to  catch  ball,  and  I  knew  that, 
for  the  present,  at  least,  the  bonds  of  the  Tribe 
were  broken.  As  I  went  down  to  dinner,  I  felt 
lonesome  and  sad ;  but  when  Titania  came  in  as 
gay  as  ever,  and  asked  us  whether  we  didn't  want 
to  get  together  after  dinner  and  let  her  tell  us  a 
story  in  French,  while  we  wrote  it  down,  and  then 
take  a  Fairy  Walk,  I  was  suddenly  as  happy  as  I 
had  been  miserable ;  and  so  it  was  with  the  rest. 
Again  we  were  a  Tribe,  "  One  Indivisible ",  as 
Marcia  used  to  spout  from  an  old  reader. 

After  dinner  we  went  into  the  sitting  room  as 
meekly  as  pupils  that  love  to  learn,  and  sat  down, 
each  with  a  block  and  pencil  to  "  take  dictation  ". 
Only  that  wasn't  what  Titania  called  it,  nor  what  we 
called  it  until  long  afterward  when  the  prospect  of 
lessons  and  study  hours  had  ceased  to  frighten  us. 


Fairy  Walks  233 

She  had  named  it  "  writing  down  a  story ".  But 
just  as  we  were  about  to  begin,  pencils  poised,  and 
eight  eyes  anxiously  on  Titania's  lips,  Marcia  burst 
out,  because  she  couldn't  wait :  — 

"  Titania,  what's  Fairy  Walks  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Titania,  as  pleasant  as  could  be,  not 
like  a  governess  who  had  been  interrupted,  "I'll  tell 
you  in  French,  instead  of  a  story,  and  you  can  write 
it  down." 

You  can  imagine  that  we  all  wrote  with  the  great- 
est care  :  for  Fairy  Walks  sounded  enchanting,  and 
we  couldn't  wait  to  know  exactly  what  they  were.  I 
won't  try  to  tell  how  she  explained  them  to  us,  but 
this  was  it  (Marcia's  French  was  the  best  of  all, 
and  so  she  was  the  one  to  read  and  translate  for  us 
at  the  end)  :  Titania  thought  it  would  be  great  fun 
to  take  Fairy  Walks.  She  had  never  tried  it, 
exactly  as  she  meant  to  do  with  us,  but  she  had 
always  intended  to,  if  she  found  four  other  girls  that 
felt  about  it  just  as  she  did,  and  liked  to  play  the 
same  way.  For  instance,  we  might  all  be  walking 
together  through  the  woods,  and  come  on  a  particu- 
larly nice  piece  of  bark  or  a  velvet-mossy  stump, 
and  this  we  should  know  was  the  throne  of  the 
Fairy  Queen.      And  if  we  didn't  exactly  see  the 


234  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Fairy  Queen  sitting  on  it,  that  wouldn't  be  any  rea- 
son she  wasn't  there,  and  we  could  beg  her  and  pray 
her  to  turn  us  into  fairies ;  and  then  when  she  had, 
we'd  dance  round  her  in  a  fairy  ring  till  we  were 
tired  and  wanted  to  go  home.  Or  some  of  us  could 
act,  and  some  could  be  the  audience.  The  ones 
that  were  to  act  needn't  tell  what  their  play  was  to 
be,  and  the  ones  that  were  the  audience  would  start 
out  and  walk  through  the  Plantation  till  they  came 
perhaps  on  the  Sleeping  Beauty.  That  would  have 
to  be  in  spring  when  it  was  warm  enough  to  lie 
down  in  the  woods. 

"Hurrah!"  Marcia  broke  in.  "Then  you'll 
stay  till  spring  !  " 

Or  one  of  us  that  was  playing  the  Princess  could 
find  the  Frog  Prince,  and  turn  him  into  a  real 
Prince,  and  the  rest  would  look  on.  Or  we  could 
act  out  the  whole  story  of  Hansel  and  Gretel,  or  a 
dozen  tales  with  good  sisters  and  bad  sisters  in 
them,  good  fairies  and  bad. 

And  this  very  afternoon,  without  any  prepara- 
tion at  all,  we  could  act  the  story  of  the  Three 
Bears. 

That  was  too  much  for  us.  How  could  we  take 
dictation,  if  that  very  afternoon  we  were  to  act  the 


Fairy  Walks  235 

Three  Bears  ?  Titania  saw  it  was  too  much  to  ask 
of  mortal  children. 

"  Come  on,  then/'  said  she.  "  Get  your  hats 
and  coats,  and  we'll  go  to  your  house  and  think  it 
over." 

She  always  called  the  house  in  the  woods  "  your 
house"  when  she  was  talking  to  us.  She  didn't 
know  it  was  the  Wigwam.  So  we  went  in  a  hurry, 
Marcia  and  Pete  dashing  on  ahead,  Marcia  to  build 
the  fire,  and  Pete  to  hinder  her ;  and  when  it  was 
warm  enough,  we  sat  down,  and  Titania  asked  us  if 
we  knew  the  story  of  the  Three  Bears.  We  didn't 
remember  until  she  began  to  tell  it,  and  then  we 
found  we  knew  it  perfectly.  They  were  the  Three 
Bears  who  lived  together  in  a  wood,  and  the  first 
was  the  Great  Big  Bear,  who  had  a  big  bowl  and 
spoon  and  a  big  bed,  and  the  second  was  a  Middle- 
Sized  Bear  and  had  a  middle-sized  bowl  and  spoon 
and  a  middle-sized  bed,  and  the  third  was  a  Teeny- 
Weeny  Bear  and  had  a  teeny-weeny  bowl  and  spoon 
and  a  teeny-weeny  bed.  And  little  Silverlocks 
came  to  their  house  when  they  were  gone  out  and, 
finding  herself  very  hungry,  tried  to  eat  the  por- 
ridge of  the  Great  Big  Bear  and  found  it  so  hot  that 
it  burned  her  mouth.     Then  she  tasted  the  porridge 


2^6  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

of  the  Middle-Sized  Bear  and  found  it  was  too  cold. 
Then  she  came  to  the  bowl  of  the  Teeny-Weeny 
Bear  and  found  the  porridge  just  right.  So  she  ate 
it  all  up.  And  then  she  tried  sitting  in  their  chairs, 
and  wasn't  satisfied  until  she  had  got  the  right 
chair,  and  lying  in  their  beds,  and  wasn't  satisfied 
until  she  got  the  right  bed;  and  the  Three  Bears 
came  home  and  found  her  fast  asleep.  And  after 
they  had  discovered  that  somebody  had  meddled 
with  their  porridge  and  sat  in  their  chairs,  they 
looked  round  again,  and  the  Great  Big  Bear  roared 
out,  in  a  great  big  voice :  — 

"  Somebody's  been  lying  in  my  bed  !  " 

And  the  Middle-Sized  Bear  roared  out,  in  a 
middle-sized  voice :  — 

"  Somebody's  been  lying  in  my  bed  !  " 

And  the  Teeny-Weeny  Bear  piped  up,  in  a 
teeny-weeny  voice :  — 

"  Somebody's  been  lying  in  my  bed,  and  she's 
lying  there  now." 

And  Silverlocks  awoke,  and  what  was  done  then, 
Titania  didn't  need  to  tell  us :  for  we  knew  per- 
fectly well. 

Kay  began  to  draw  on  her  mittens. 

"  I  must  go  back  to  the  house,"  she  said,  "  and 


Fairy  Walks  237 

get  the  bowls  and  the  spoons  and  the  fur  coats  and 
things." 

"  What  for  ?  "  said  Titania. 

"  Why,"  said  Kay,  "  we  shall  need  the  fur  coats 
for  the  bears." 

"We  don't  need  them,"  said  Titania.  "We 
did  when  we  were  playing  Red  Riding  Hood, 
because  then  we  were  doing  it  that  way ;  but  it 
isn't  always  necessary.  Now,  can't  you  look  at 
Marcia  or  Laura  and  think  they're  bears  ?  and  then 
don't  they  look  like  bears  ?  " 

This  was  an  astonishing  thing  to  do ;  but  we 
tried  it,  and  really  it  seemed  to  come  out  just  that 
way.  They  were  perfectly  good  bears,  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes. 

"  But,"  said  Kay,  "  don't  we  want  the  bowls  and 
spoons  ? " 

Titania  took  up  a  chip  from  the  hearth. 

"Here's  a  bowl,"  she  said.  "There's  another 
there,  by  you,  Ruth.  You  don't  need  any  spoons. 
Hold  your  hand  as  if  you  had  a  spoon  in  it,  and  in 
a  minute  you'll  think  the  spoon  is  there,  and  you'll 
begin  to  use  it.     See  ?  " 

She  began  to  use  her  own  spoon  that  wasn't 
there  so  deftly  and  eat  the  broth  that  wasn't  there 


238  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

so  greedily,  and  tip  the  piece  of  wood  to  get  the 
last  drop,  that  we  were  enchanted  with  the  game, 
and  we  all  got  chips  and  began  to  eat  soup  with 
invisible  spoons,  and  then  threw  away  the  chips  and 
ate  from  no  bowls  at  all. 

"  Ruth  must  be  Silverlocks,"  said  Titania,  "  be- 
cause she's  the  littlest." 

"  Then,"  said  Marcia,  "  we  bears  have  got  to  go 
outdoors  and  wait  till  she's  been  in  and  eaten  up 
the  porridge  and  tried  the  beds." 

"Wouldn't  you  rather  be  here  and  see  her  do 
it  ?  "  Titania  asked. 

Of  course  that  was  what  we  wanted,  but  we'd 
forgotten  about  being  Invisible. 

"  One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine  !  " 
Titania  counted.     "  Invisible  !  " 

And  we  knew  we  were.  So  Ruth  went  out,  and 
presently  she  came  softly  in  again,  and  we  sat  still 
and  watched  her.  She  had  a  beautiful  time  doing 
it  all,  and  she  really  did  it  very  well.  She  tried 
the  Great  Big  Bear's  porridge,  and  the  Middle- 
Sized  Bear's,  and  tried  the  three  chairs  and  the 
three  beds.  We  hadn't  remembered  that  there  was 
really  only  one  bed;  but  Ruth  met  and  conquered 
that  difficulty  without  a  pause.     She  just  Pretended 


Fairy  Walks  239 

the  one  bed  was  three  beds,  and  tried  it  three  times, 
and  we  Pretended  it,  too.  And  when  it  was  the 
teeny-weeny  bed,  she  sank  down  into  it,  and  shut 
her  eyes,  and  drew  the  coverlet  to  her  chin  ;  and 
then  the  Three  Bears  got  up  and  tiptoed  out,  and 
in  a  minute  they  came  blustering  in  and  began, 
in  the  gruffest  voices  they  could  find,  to  inquire 
who'd  been  meddling  with  their  things.  I  didn't 
play  that  time.  I  really  liked  it  better  to  look 
on.  When  it  was  all  over,  and  Titania  had  ap- 
plauded and  turned  the  bears  into  girls  again,  she 
said :  — 

"  Now  let's  sit  down  and  talk  it  over,  and  see  if 
we'd  better  have  done  it  differently." 

We  settled  by  the  fire,  and  Marcia  got  out  what 
we  called  the  lapstone,  because  an  old  cobbler  had 
given  it  to  her  when  he  could  no  longer  see  to 
work,  and  the  hammer  and  the  butternut  bag ;  and 
she  cracked,  and  we  ate  and  picked  out  meats  for 
Titania. 

"  I  think,"  said  Titania,  "  Silverlocks  might  talk 

a  little  to  herself  while  she  goes  round  finding  the 

things.     She  might  say,   c  I'm  so    hungry.      Why, 

here's    some    porridge ! '     c  I'm    so    sleepy.     Why, 

.here's  a  bed!'" 


240  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Won't  you  write  it  down  ?  "  asked  Ruth.  "  I'll 
learn  it  all  to-night/' 

"  No,"  said  Titania,  "  you  don't  need  it  written 
down.  You  can  make  it  up  as  you  go  along.  In 
this  kind  of  a  play  that's  the  nicest  way.     More  fun." 

"  It's  queer,"  said  Marcia. 

"  What's  queer  ?  "  Titania  asked. 

Marcia  didn't  know  exactly  how  to  tell,  and  she 
flushed  a  little,  as  if  it  might  not  be  the  right  thing 
to  say. 

"  Everybody  else  is  always  wanting  us  to  study 
and  keep  rules." 

"  Not  Grandma,"  said  Kay,  stoutly,  and  I  put 
in:  — 

"  Not  Grandma  !  " 

"No,"  said  Marcia,  "not  really,  but  some.  She 
never  tried  to  make  us,  but  we  know  all  the  same 
if  we'd  study  she'd  be  awful  pleased." 

"  Awfully,"  said  Ruth,  remembering  Crandma. 

That  made  us  remember,  too,  and  we  felt  a  little 
dash  of  discouragement.  We  hadn't  quite  forgotten 
that  we  hadn't  yet  done  what  we'd  been  told,  and 
might  have  to  go  to  Crandma's  any  minute. 

"  But  you,"  said  Marcia  to  Titania,  "  never  think 
of  anything  but  fun." 


Fairy  Walks  247 

"  Don't  I  ? "  asked  Titania.  At  once  she  looked 
as  sad  as  she  had  that  morning,  when  Marcia  told 
her  about  Uncle  Terry's  wife.     "  Bless  the  child  !  " 

Ruth  put  a  double  nut  meat  on  her  knee,  and 
Titania  laughed,  and  they  ate  philopena,  and  then 
Marcia  said :  — 

"  What  let's  act  next  ?  " 

"You  think  up  a  story,"  said  Titania.  "I 
thought  of  this  one.     Write  one,  if  you  want  to." 

"  Uncle  Terry  writes  plays,"  said  Kay,  her  mouth 
full  of  nuts.     "  But  nobody '11  take  'em." 

"  Won't  they  ? "  asked  Titania.  She  looked 
quite  merry.     "  Why  won't  they  ?  " 

"  He  says  it's  because  he's  a  landlubber,"  said 
Marcia.  "  He  told  Grandma  so.  He  says  he 
hasn't  learned  the  ropes.  Titania,  couldn't  we  act 
Shakespeare  ? " 

I  expected  Titania,  though  she  was  always  kind, 
to  laugh  at  this,  because  I  remembered  how  Aunt 
Tabitha  went  up  from  Sedgmoor  to  Boston  to  see 
plays  of  Shakespeare's ;  and  I  knew  from  what  she 
said  that  they  must  be  very  grand  indeed.  But 
Titania  was  always  giving  us  surprises. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  she  said,  "  perfectly  well.     We'll  read 
one  first,  and  you  can  see  if  you'd  like  to  act  it." 
1 


l^l  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Should  we  have  scenery  ?  "  I  asked. 

I'd  heard  Aunt  Tabitha  talk  about  the  scenery. 

"  No/'  said  Titania,  "  you  can  play  an  Imagine- 
Play." 

This  was  the  first  time  that  name  had  been  given 
to  it,  and  after  that,  all  the  plays  we  did  without 
scenery  were  called  Imagine-Plays. 

"  Want  to  come  back  to  the  house,"  Titania 
asked,  "  and  find  the  book  and  read  the  play  ?  \ 

So  off  we  scampered  back.  We  were  in  even 
more  of  a  hurry  than  ever  since  Titania  had  come, 
running  from  one  pleasant  thing  to  another.  By 
the  time  she  had  found  the  book,  and  we  had 
settled  before  the  fire  and  Grandma  had  said  :  — 

"  Such  a  treat,  my  dear !  such  a  treat  to  hear  you 
read ! "  and  had  drawn  up  her  chair,  too,  the  dusk 
was  coming  outside,  and  we  were  entranced  with 
that  particular  happiness  the  dusk  and  a  fire  to- 
gether can  bring. 

"  The  play,"  said  Titania,  "  is  called  c  The 
Merchant  of  Venice  \"  She  spoke  in  an  entirely 
new  voice,  round,  clear,  and  full.  "  Til  tell  you  a 
little  about  the  play,  and  then  I'll  read  the  most 
important  speeches." 

So  she  told  and  read,  and  we  sat  all  of  us,  I 


Fairy  Walks  243 

think,  with  our  arms  about  our  knees,  and  listened. 
Pete  came  in  and  "  flumped  "  and  paid  attention  for 
a  moment,  but  didn't  find  anything  in  it,  and  went 
to  sleep.  Mary  came  to  call  us  to  supper;  but 
when  she  heard  what  we  were  doing,  she  stood  still 
in  the  doorway  and  Grandma  made  her  a  sign  and 
she  went  away  again.  Uncle  Terry  came  into  the 
hall  and  stopped  a  minute  after  he  had  shut  the 
outer  door.  Then  he  put  down  his  hat  and  coat 
on  the  table,  and  came  and  listened,  standing  just 
outside.  Titania  had  reached  the  place  where 
Portia  tells  Bassanio  she  will  be  his  wife ;  and  this 
is  what  she  read,  in  such  a  beautiful  voice  that  I 
saw  Grandma  was  crying,  and  I  was  not  ashamed, 
and  cried,  too  :  — 

"  'You  see  me,  Lord  Bassanio,  where  I  stand, 
Such  as  I  am  :  tho*  for  myself  alone, 
I  would  not  be  ambitious  in  my  wish, 
To  wish  myself  much  better  ;  yet  for  you, 
I  would  be  trebled  twenty  times  myself, 
A  thousand  times  more  fair,  ten  thousand  times 
More  rich  ;  that,  to  stand  high  in  your  account, 
I  might  in  virtues,  beauties,  livings,  friends, 
Exceed  account :  but  the  full  sum  of  me 
Is  sum  of  something,  which,  to  term  in  gross, 
Is  an  unlesson'd  girl,  unschooPd,  unpractis'd : 


244  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Happy  in  this,  she  is  not  yet  so  old 

But  she  may  learn  ;  more  happy  then  in  this, 

She  is  not  bred  so  dull  but  she  can  learn; 

Happiest  of  all  is,  that  her  gentle  spirit 

Commits  itself  to  yours,  to  be  directed, 

As  from  her  lord,  her  governor,  her  king.'  " 

Uncle  Terry  stood  perfectly  still,  and  suddenly 
he  put  his  hand  to  his  face,  and  then  I  heard  him 
going  up  the  stairs.  He  went  so  softly  that  per- 
haps the  others  didn't  notice.  At  the  end  of  that 
speech  Titania  stopped  and  looked  at  Grandma,  and 
they  smiled  at  each  other  and  seemed  as  if  they 
thought  the  same  thing  exactly. 

"  Thank  you,  my  dear,"  said  Grandma.  "  Oh, 
what  a  treat  it  is !  Supper  now.  The  rest 
to-morrow." 

We  went  to  supper,  perfectly  happy,  very  much 
excited  and  yet  serious.  Somehow  we  felt  as  if  we 
had  come  on  a  new  thing  that  was  more  delightful 
than  anything  else.  Only  we  couldn't  bear  to  wait 
for  the  ending,  and  when  we  begged  for  it,  Titania 
looked  at  Grandma,  and  Grandma  nodded  and 
said :  — 

"  If  you're  not  tired,  dear." 

And  we  went  back  to  our  circle  and  piled  on 


Fairy  Walks  245 

wood,  and  Titania  finished  the  play,  in  a  merry 
fashion  that  sent  our  spirits  up  like  smoke. 

Only  Kay  didn't  think  the  bargain  about  the 
pound  of  flesh  and  "  no  drop  of  blood  "  was  fair. 

"  You  can't  cut  flesh  without  making  blood,"  she 
said.     "They  knew  that  in  the  beginning." 

Ruth  was  sorry  for  Shylock,  and  so  was  I.  But 
Marcia  was  chiefly  concerned  in  planning  how  to 
act  the  play.  We  could  begin  next  day,  Titania 
told  us.  We'd  make  out  the  cast  and  learn  our 
parts.  We  went  to  bed  very  meekly  when  we  were 
told.  It  seemed  to  us  we  had  to,  after  being 
allowed  to  sit  up  "  extra  long  ".  But  Kay  lingered 
till  the  rest  had  said  good  night,  and  then  she  asked 
Titania :  — 

"  Was  it  fair,  about  the  drop  of  blood  ?  Would 
the  case  have  gone  that  way  ?  " 

"  Maybe  not,"  said  Titania,  with  one  of  her 
understanding  looks.     "  Only  it's  part  Pretend." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    SENTENCE 

WE  could  hardly  wait  for  breakfast  to 
be  over,  so  that  we  could  begin  to 
learn  the  Merchant  of  Venice.  Titania 
never  tried  to  quiet  our  impatience.  She  seemed  to 
think  it  splendid  to  want  to  do  a  thing  and  to  want 
to  do  it  instantly.  So  after  breakfast  we  scurried 
over  the  house  and  looked  in  all  the  bookcases  to 
see  if  we  could  find  copies  enough  of  the  play,  and 
we  did,  and  each  sat  down  with  one  opened  to 
Portia's  speech  in  the  Trial  Scene.  Titania  didn't 
want  to  give  out  the  parts  until  she  had  heard  how 
each  one  of  us  did  that  particular  speech :  for  she 
said  that  was  the  great  scene.  Kay  was  looking  at 
the  list  of  characters  in  the  book. 

"  Why,"  said  she,  "  there  are  lots  of  'em.  We 
can't  play  all  those." 

"  Oh,  you  can  double  up  on  some,"  said  Titania. 
"  Each  of  you  can  take  two  parts,  maybe  three. 
And  what  there  are  left  over  I'll  read." 

246 


The  Sentence  247 

"  Will  it  be  just  as  well  ? "  Marcia  asked, 
anxiously.  She  was  always  very  particular  to  have 
a  play  "just  so  ",  and  now  that  I  have  seen  a  good 
many  plays  myself,  I  know  why.  A  play  ought  to 
be  perfectly  done,  or  not  done  at  all. 

"  It's  just  as  well,  the  way  we're  doing  it,"  said 
Titania,  "  because  we  know  how  to  Pretend.  If 
there  is  something  in  the  play  that  we  can't  get,  we 
can  pretend  it's  there,  and  we  shall  have  just  as 
much  fun.  Now  I'll  read  Portia's  speech,  and  you 
listen  hard." 

She  read  it  as  she  had  the  night  before,  but  even 
more  slowly,  and  so  smoothly  and  so  beautifully. 
And  when  she  had  done,  Ruth  read  it  after  her,  and 
so  did  I,  and  I  suppose  we  sounded  like  very  little 
girls  trying  to  do  something  too  hard  for  us.  I 
felt  I  could  do  it  better  if  I  stood  up  as  we  did  at 
Sedgmoor,  when  we  spoke  a  piece,  and  made  a  little 
bow  and  put  my  hands  behind  my  back.  We  had 
sat  still  in  our  chairs,  to  read  it,  as  Titania  had ; 
but  when  Marcia's  turn  came,  she  got  up  and 
stepped  out  of  the  circle  and  held  her  book  as  if  she 
didn't  need  it  very  much,  and  looked  at  the  mantel- 
piece, and  I  knew  at  once  she  was  looking  at  the 
judge.      Marcia  had  grown  quite  white ;    her  lips 


248  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

trembled  and  her  eyes  shone.  She  was  Pretending 
with  all  her  might.     She  began  :  — 

w  •  The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained,'  M 

and  she  did  it  exactly  as  Titania  had  :  only  there  was 
something  different  in  her  voice,  something  strong 
and  full,  as  if  she  had  thought  about  the  part 
herself,  and  didn't  need  to  imitate  Titania  exactly. 
She  had  thoughts  of  her  own  to  put  into  it. 
Titania  had  been  staring  at  the  fire  and  listening, 
while  Ruth  and  I  had  our  trial ;  but  now  she 
looked  up  straight  at  Marcia,  and  she  smiled  and 
nodded  once  or  twice,  and  really  seemed  excited. 

"  Brava  !  "  she  said,  at  the  end.  "  Brava !  Marcia, 
you're  a  great  girl." 

Marcia  sat  down  suddenly  and  winked  her  eyes 
two  or  three  times,  as  if  she'd  got  to  get  back  to 
feeling  the  way  she  usually  felt.  I  loved  to  play  at 
acting,  but  I  didn't  see  why  she  should  take  it  so 
hard.  I  do  now.  Marcia  thought  it  was  the  most 
beautiful  thing  to  do  in  all  the  world. 

"  Now,  Kay,"  Titania  said. 

Kay  began  in  a  rush,  as  if  she  wanted  to  get  it 
over ;  then  her  voice  dragged  and  turned  sulky, 
and  she  stopped. 


The  Sentence  249 

"  Don't  like  it,  do  you,  Kay  ? "  Titania  asked 
and  laughed. 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Kay,  "  I  don't/'  She  looked 
puzzled  and  unhappy.  "  'Twouldn't  have  been 
that  way.  It's  a  nice  speech,  and  if  I  didn't  know 
what  was  coming,  I  s'pose  I  could  do  it.  But  when 
I  know  things  are  going  to  be  all  twisted  round  so 
the  judge  will  give  that  mean  verdict  —  " 

Titania  lay  back  in  her  chair  and  laughed. 

"  Kay,"  she  said,  "  you've  got  the  legal  mind. 
You've  got  it  so  bad  you  can't  even  let  yourself 
Pretend.     What  do  you  say  to  playing  Shylock  ?  " 

Kay  brightened  up  at  once. 

"  Could  I  ?  "  she  asked.  "  And  have  a  beard  ? 
I'd  like  that  first-rate." 

So  Titania  gave  out  the  parts,  and  we  talked,  and 
cut  the  play,  and  she  asked  our  advice  on  a  great 
many  points,  and  gravely  took  it  when  she  could. 
And  after  we  had  worked  three  solid  hours, 
Grandma  came  in,  and  said  :  — 

"  Haven't  you  children  been  outdoors  this  morn- 
ing? Well,  you'd  better  take  a  run  before  dinner 
time.     Mary  is  beginning  to  baste  the  roast." 

"  Yes'm,"  said  Titania,  as  if  she,  too,  were  a  child, 
"  we'll  have  a  run.     When  shall  we  be  back  ?  " 


250  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

That  was  a  happy  morning.  It  had  begun  beau- 
tifully, too.  I  had  had  a  long  letter  from  Aunt 
Tabitha  with  messages  for  everybody,  even  to 
"  Miss  Delorme,  if  she  is  with  you ".  Aunt 
Tabitha  and  I  had  lived  alone  together  so  long — all 
my  life,  it  was,  and  that  seemed  long  to  me  — 
that  she  treated  me  almost  like  a  grown-up,  and 
wrote  me  truly  grown-up  letters.  In  this  one  she 
told  me  how  her  singing  was  getting  on,  and  who 
had  praised  her,  and  that  she  had  a  new  blue  silk. 
Dressmaking  was  very  cheap,  and  she  had  felt  she 
needed  it.  Did  I  remember,  she  asked,  Mr.  Paul 
Meredith  who  had  been  studying  the  piano  in 
Boston  when  she  went  up  for  singing?  He  had 
come  down  to  Sedgmoor  several  times  to  call,  and 
we  had  raisin  cake  and  tea.  I  did  remember  him 
well.  He  always  brought  me  chocolates  and  took 
off  his  hat  to  me,  and  I  thought  him  splendid. 
He  was  in  Germany  now,  Aunt  Tabitha  said, 
studying,  and  twice  he  had  played  in  public,  and 
there  was  no  doubt  about  his  doing  all  he  meant 
to  do  and  more.  He  had  been  to  see  her  several 
times.  I  was  glad  of  that.  I  thought  she  might 
not  miss  me  quite  so  much  if  she  could  see  some- 
body from  home.     But  she  did  miss  me.     She  said 


The  Sentence  251 

so  at  the  end  of  the  letter,  and  there  was  a  blobby 
kiss.  I  gave  the  letter  to  Grandma,  and  she  read  it 
aloud  for  Titania  to  hear. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Titania,  when  they  got  to  Paul 
Meredith,  "  he's  a  splendid  fellow,  splendid. 
That's  perfectly  all  right." 

"  I'm  so  glad,"  said  Grandma.  "  Yes,  Pm  very 
glad.     Here's  your  letter,  dear." 

Now  we  were  going  out  to  walk,  and  I  tucked 
my  letter  into  my  top  pocket  where  I  could  hear  it 
crackle.  It  made  me  almost  feel  Aunt  Tabitha 
was  near.  The  letters  gave  me  a  strange  kind  of 
pleasure.  I  was  glad  Aunt  Tabitha  was  having 
such  a  lovely  time,  and  I  knew  I  was  myself;  but 
I  had  an  ache  in  my  throat,  thinking  of  the  house 
at  Sedgmoor,  shut  up  and  cold,  and  perhaps  longing 
for  us  a  little  bit,  and  not  knowing  just  where  we 
were.  But  we  had  told  it,  Aunt  Tabitha  and  I. 
The  very  night  before  we  shut  it  up,  we  went 
round  and  looked  at  all  the  things  we  loved,  and  I 
said  :  — 

"  Do  you  s'pose  it  knows,  Aunt  Tab  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  she,  at  once.  "  It's  heard  us 
talking  about  it,  all  this  time.  It  won't  forget,  will 
you,  darling  house  ?  " 


252  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

We  were  hurrying  out,  I  with  my  hand  on  my 
letter,  and  Ruth  said  :  — 

"  Titania,  could  this  be  a  Fairy  Walk  ? " 

"  I  don't  believe  this  could/'  said  Titania,  as  if 
something  else  might  in  a  very  few  minutes.  "  We 
don't  want  to  stop  to  think  about  it,  you  know. 
We  want  to  run,  and  get  most  frightfully  hungry, 
so  we  can  eat  up  all  Mary's  roast." 

Ruth  had  Titania's  hand,  and  when  we  got  into 
the  Plantation  "  scrooged  about ",  now  a  little  before 
and  now  behind,  so  there  might  be  room  for  them 
both,  and  she  needn't  drop  the  hand. 

"  What  can  we  do  when  we've  used  up  the  Fairy 
Walks  ?  "  she  asked. 

I  often  thought  we  asked  Titania  questions  some- 
times just  to  keep  her  talking,  we  loved  so  to  hear 
her  voice. 

"  Oh,"  said  she,  "  there  are  stories  enough  to  last 
till  you  are  two  hundred  and  ten.  We,  must  hunt 
them  out,  that's  all." 

"  All  fairy  stories  ?  "  asked  Kay. 

"No,"  said  Titania,  "we  could  make  walks  out 
of  other  stories,  stories  that  have  really  happened. 
We  could  have  King  Alfred  and  the  Cakes,  and 
Bruce  and  the  Spider,  and  Diogenes  and  his  Lan- 


The  Sentence  253 

tern.  There  are  millions  of  stories,  just  millions. 
I  don't  know  them  all,  only  the  commonest  ones. 
I  told  you  I  didn't  know  history,  like  Amy  Fuller- 
ton.  "  Amy  Fullerton  !  we  had  forgotten  all  about 
her.  It  had  seemed  as  if  this  playtime  were  to  go 
on  forever  and  ever,  with  Titania  always  teaching 
us  new  games  and  playing  as  hard  as  we.  She  saw 
our  trouble.  "  But  we  could  look  up  the  history 
stories,,,  she  said,  gayly.  "  We'd  better  get  out  the 
history  books  and  peg  away  and  see  what  we  can 
find.  There  are  Greek  stories,  too,  and  Roman. 
I've  heard  of  those.  We  must  look  alive  and  see 
what  they  are." 

We  could  hardly  wait  to  do  it.  We  began  to 
suspect  that  the  more  things  we  found  out  in  what 
Ruth  called  "  knowledge  books  ",  the  longer  Titania 
would  stay  with  us :  for  ir  it  was  discovered  she  had 
taught  us  things,  why  should  Amy  Fullerton  come 
at  all  ? 

"  What  could  we  call  those  walks  ? "  asked  Ruth. 
"  If  it's  Fairy  Walks  when  we  play  fairy  stories, 
what  would  it  be  when  we  played  history  stories?" 

Titania  seemed  to  consider  this  quite  gravely. 
And  I  believe  she  really  did.  History  was  a  study. 
If  she  called  them  history  walks,  should  we  think 


254  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

we  were  studying  and  lose  half  the  fun  ?  Suddenly 
she  began  to  laugh. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we  could  call  them,"  said  she. 
"  Once  I  heard  about  a  sign  in  the  window  of  a 
country  store :  c  Huckle-blue-cran-rasp  and  other 
berries.'  We  could  have  c  Fairy-brick-board  and 
other  walks  \  When  we  acted  history  stories/they'd 
be  <  Other  Walks  '." 

We  thought  that  tremendously  funny,  and  went 
home  inventing  all  kinds  of  sentences,  like  a  game. 

"  Gold-fountain-pig  and  other  pens,"  Marcia 
thought  of,  and  Ruth  said :  — 

"  TafFeta-sewing-corn  and  other  silks." 

Titania  said :  — 

"  Sky-marsh-great  and  other  larks." 

I  couldn't  think  of  one,  and  while  I  was  hammer- 
ing at  my  brain,  Kay  said,  thoughtfully,  as  if  she 
had  been  considering  it  a  long  time  and  it  had  to 
come  out:  — 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  they  could  put  in  huckle 
and  cran  together,  because  cranberries  come  later:" 

"  O  legal  mind  !  "  said  Titania.  "  Maybe  they 
didn't.     Maybe  I  put  in    the    ccran'." 

And  Kay  was  so  cheered  that  she  at  once  in- 
vented :  — 


The  Sentence  255 

"  Mahogany-turn-time  and  dinner  table,"  and  we 
saw  where  her  thoughts  were  and  began  to  scurry 
along. 

As  we  went,  we  played  another  game.  Some- 
how, when  we  were  with  Titania  we  felt  like  play- 
ing all  the  time.  This  game  was  a  foolish  one, 
hardly  a  game  at  all ;  but  we  always  got  silly  over  it 
and  laughed  in  that  particular  way  that  Uncle  Terry 
called  "  having  the  simples  ". 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  Mony  and  Ann  T.  Mony," 
Kay  called,  as  she  went  along  tapping  the  trees  with 
her  stick. 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Donna  and  Bella  Donna,"  said  I. 

Here  I  was  at  home,  for  it  was  a  game  Aunt 
Tabitha  and  I  had  often  played  by  the  fire  on  a  cool 
night,  and  I  could  use  up  all  the  old  combinations  I 
had  learned  at  Sedgmoor. 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  Dote  and  Ann  T.  Dote," 
said  Titania,  and  Marcia  called  quite  loudly  because 
it  was  one  that  hadn't  been  thought  of  before  :  — 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jump-up  and  Johnny-jump-up  !  " 

"Oh,  come,"  said  Kay,  "that's  no  fair.  Johnny- 
Jump-up's  a  real  name." 

"  Don't  care  if  it  is,"  said  Marcia.  "  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Delight,  then,  and  the  Ladies  Delight." 


256  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Marcia  liked  a  free  hand  in  her  inventions,  and  as 
Kay  always  wanted  to  go  by  rule,  they  began  to  dis- 
cuss the  silly  game  as  if  it  were  quite  important.  So 
by  the  time  we  got  home,  we  were  all  glad  to  have 
done  with  it.  We  took  our  things  off,  and  were 
trooping  up  stairs  to  wash  our  hands,  when  Marcia 
called  to  me,  because  I  happened  to  be  the  last 
one:  - — 

"  O  Laura,  would  you  put  Pete  in  the  kitchen  ? 
I've  got  to  get  the  burrs  out  of  his  ears." 

So  I  took  him  out,  much  against  his  will,  for  he 
always  wanted  to  be  at  Marcia's  heels  when  he 
wasn't  jumping  over  her,  and  I  found  Mary  making 
gravy  and  mashing  potato  and  buttering  squash,  in 
the  midst  of  that  time  just  before  dinner  when 
everything  has  to  be  done  at  once,  and  the  cook 
looks  so  anxious  and  the  kitchen  smells  so  good. 

"All  right,"  said  Mary,  when  I  told  her  about 
the  burrs  and  asked  her  not  to  let  Pete  in  again. 
"  Wait  a  minute.  Here's  two  letters  that  were  too 
late  for  first  delivery.  Eph  went  up  to  get  Mrs. 
Gray's,  and  he  took  them  out  of  the  box. 

One  letter  was  for  the  Grandmother.  I  carried 
it  to  the  sitting  room  where  I'd  seen  her  as  we 
came  in.     The  other  letter  was  for  "The  Misses 


The  Sentence  257 

Marcia,  Katherine,  and  Ruth  Blake,  and  Miss  Laura 
Whiteley  ".  I  knew  the  hand.  It  was  Just  Grand- 
pa's. When  I  went  into  the  sitting  room,  rather  in 
a  hurry  because  I  wanted  to  find  the  Tribe  and  read 
our  own  letter  as  soon  as  possible,  Grandma  was 
standing  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  Uncle  Terry 
was  facing  her.  It  doesn't  seem  possible  that  the 
Grandmother  ever  looked  angry ;  but  I  thought  she 
did  then.  Uncle  Terry  seemed  excited,  as  if  he'd 
been  talking  fast  and  as  if  now  something  troubled 
him  terribly.    And  just  as  I  went  in,  he  was  saying:  — 

"  It's  an  impossible  situation.     Impossible  !  " 

"  It's  a  situation  you  have  made  yourself,"  said 
Grandma.  "If  you  are  uncomfortable,  you  richly 
deserve  it." 

Was  this  the  Grandmother  who  always  spoke  so 
gently  to  us,  and  who,  when  we  were  at  our  naugh- 
tiest, always  seemed  sad  and  never  stern  ? 

"  I  shall  get  out,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "  I  shall 
go  abroad." 

"  If  you  do,"  said  the  Grandmother,  "you  will 
ruin  your  life,  and  I  won't  say  whose  besides.  I 
shan't  stand  by  you,  Terry.  You're  wrong,  and 
you  know  you're  wrong ;  but  you're  as  obstinate  as 
a  mule." 


258  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

I  put  the  letter  into  her  hand ;  but  neither  of 
them  seemed  even  to  see  me.  She  was  too  busy 
scolding  him,  and  he  was  too  busy  being  scolded. 
I  scampered  up  the  stairs  and  into  Kay-and-Marcia's 
room,  and  I  must  have  looked  queer,  for  Marcia 
said :  — 

"  What's  the  matter  ?     Grandma  all  right  ?  ' 

I  gave  her  the  letter,  and  that  seemed  to  account 
for  my  hurry,  at  least,  and  the  letter  was  so  im- 
portant that  Marcia  bob-whited  for  Kay  and  Kay 
for  Ruth,  and  we  plumped  down  on  the  bed,  and 
Marcia  read  it  aloud  quickly  to  get  it  over  before 
the  dinner  bell.     This  was  the  letter. 

"c  Esteemed  Imps:  Have  had  no  reply  from 
you  in  regard  to  the  matter  set  forth  in  my  com- 
munication of  the  15th  #//.'" 

"  What  does  ult  mean  ?  "  Ruth  inquired. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  Marcia.  "  It's  some- 
thing Just  Grandpa  puts  in  with  the  date.  Maybe 
it's  one  of  his  jokes.     We  can't  stop  for  that  now. 

" c  I  understand  from  a  letter  just  received  from 
your  That-Grandma,  in  reply  to  one  of  inquiry  from 
your  This-Grandma,  that  no  settlement  of  the  case 
of  being  out  at  night  and  refusing  to  tell  where  has 
been  reached.     Am  deeply  concerned  at  this.     Beg 


The  Sentence  259 

leave  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
matter  of  your  whereabouts  on  that  particular  night 
is  not  of  especial  importance.  The  subject  in  hand 
is  that  you  have  failed  to  give  evidence  in  the  case, 
which  is  contempt  of  court.  You  have  refused  to 
answer  a  question  of  your  That-Grandma,  who  is  a 
Regular  Brick,  all  wool  and  a  yard  wide,  which 
proves  that  you  are  not  only  Imps  but  Ingrates.'  " 

"What's  ingrates  ? "  Ruth  asked,  with  her  head 
over  Marcia's  shoulder,  to  see  if  a  look  at  the  page 
would  help  her. 

"  Don't  know,"  said  Marcia.  "  Something  awful. 
Can't  stop  to  think.  Look  it  out  after  dinner. 
c  Therefore,  after  consultation  with  your  This- 
Grandma,  it  has  been  determined  that  unless  you 
give  full  and  complete  testimony  to  your  That- 
Grandma  concerning  the  night  in  question,  you  will 
be  transported  to  this  house,  bag  and  baggage. 
And  whereas  I  am  delirious  with  joy  over  an 
occasional  visit  from  Good  Grandchildren,  I  find 
myself  in  a  frightful  temper  when  I  contemplate 
undertaking  the  punishment  of  Unruly  Imps. 
Moreover,  my  house  is  a  very  excellent  house  with 
commodious  windows,  and  I  do  not  think  with  any 
pleasure  of  putting  gratings  at  said  windows,  to  turn 


260  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

it  into  a  penitentiary  for  the  confinement  of  Unruly 
Imps.  Shall  be  happy  to  hear  from  you  by  Tues- 
day next/  " 

"  It  isn't  ult  there,"  said  Ruth. 

" c  On  that  precise  date,  measures  will  be  taken. 
Your  very  un-affectionate  Just  Grandpa/  " 

We  sat  for  a  moment  in  silence.  The  letter  had 
made  us  sick  at  heart.      Besides,  we  were  hungry. 

"  Oh,"  said  Marcia,  in  a  miserable  tone,  "  we 
were  having  such  a  good  time,  and  Titania  and  all. 
Why  can't  they  let  us  alone  ?  " 

"  Wonder  what  she  wrote  to  Grandma,"  Kay 
pondered,  gloomily. 

"  Who  ? " 

"  Crandma.  She  wrote,  you  see.  He  says 
Grandma  said  we  hadn't  told,  and  that  was  when 
Crandma  asked  her.  Wonder  if  Grandma  knows 
we've  got  to  go." 

"  You  don't  suppose  Titania'd  go  with  us  ? " 
asked  Ruth,  hopefully. 

"  No,"  said  Kay.  "  If  we're  at  Crandma's,  we've 
got  to  go  to  public  school.  Don't  you  know  she 
said  so  ? " 

"  It  isn't  so  much  Titania,"  said  Marcia. 

We  looked  at  her  in  amazement.     We  couldn't 


The  Sentence  261 

bear  even  the  thought  of  leaving  Titania,  and  how 
could  she  who,  as  Ruth  said,  "  simply  worshipped  " 
her?  Tears  came  into  Marcia's  eyes.  She  hated 
them,  and  winked  them  angrily  away. 

"  Of  course  it's  Titania,  too,"  she  said.  "  We 
can't  any  of  us  get  along  without  Titania.  But  we 
just  can't  live  without  Grandma.  I've  been  think- 
ing about  it  all  this  time.  I  knew  something  was 
going  to  happen.  I  knew  we  shouldn't  get  off  as 
easy  as  this.  And  if  they  send  us  over  there,  I 
don't  see  how  we  can  live." 

"  Then  what'll  we  do  ?  "  I  piped  up.  "  Couldn't 
we  tell  ? " 

For  a  minute  I  was  light-heartedly  sure  that  we 
could  tell,  and  everybody  be  the  better  for  it.  But 
Marcia  had  turned  square  about  and  was  looking  at 
me.     I  felt  very  small  indeed. 

"Tell?"  she  repeated,  bitterly.  "How  can  we 
when  we  promised  not  to  ?  Didn't  it  mean  any- 
thing to  promise  ?  Didn't  it  mean  anything  to 
drink  the  drink  ?  " 

"Yes,"  I  said,  humbly.     "  I  s'pose  it  did." 

Then  the  dinner  bell  rang,  and  we  went  down ; 
but  I  felt  like  a  very  unworthy  member  of  the 
Tribe. 


262  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Something  had  happened  downstairs,  too.  Uncle 
Terry  wasn't  at  the  table,  and  Grandma  looked 
worried  and  sad.  Titania  was  very  sweet  to  her,  as 
if  she  were  sorry  for  her ;  and  we  were  so  quiet  that 
Mary  looked  at  us  frowningly  from  time  to  time, 
as  if  we  couldn't  be  quite  well  and  she's  got  to  run 
for  hot  water  or  peppermint.  When  we  got  up 
from  the  table,  Grandma  stood  a  minute  by  her 
chair. 

"  Children,"  said  she,  cc  will  you  come  into  the 
sitting  room  ?  I've  had  a  letter  I  want  to  read 
to  you." 

In  the  hall  Titania  seemed  to  be  about  to  go  up- 
stairs, but  Grandma  said  :  — 

"  Come  in,  my  dear,  if  you  don't  mind.  I'd 
like  you  to  hear  it,  too." 

So  Grandma  sat  down  by  the  window  and  took 
a  letter  off  the  sill,  and  opened  it.  We  four  sat 
on  stools,  I  believe.  I  have  a  remembrance  that 
we  looked  very  humble,  and  I  suppose  we  were 
so  low  in  our  minds  that  we  chose  to  be  as  near 
the  floor  as  possible. 

"  c  Dear  Amelia  : '  "  Grandmother  began. 
Then  she  looked  up  from  the  sheet  to  say,  "  This 
is    from  your  other    Grandma.     c  Dear  Amelia :   I 


The  Sentence  263 

am  both  surprised  and  pained  to  hear  that  the  chil- 
dren are  still  disobedient.'  This,"  said  Grandma, 
looking  up  again,  "  refers  entirely  to  your  refusing 
to  tell  me  where  you  went.  Since  that  time,  as 
I  wrote  your  other  Grandma,  never  have  I 
seen  better  children."  As  she  said  that,  a  tear 
ran  down  under  her  glasses  on  the  cheek  that 
was  next  to  me ;  and  Marcia,  feeling,  I  suppose, 
tears  of  her  own  coming,  sniffed  once,  angrily. 
The  Grandmother  went  on  reading. 

" c  I  am  sure,  Amelia,  you  will  understand  it 
exactly  as  I  mean  it  when  I  say  that  you  have 
done  everything  possible  for  the  children  except 
to  make  them  mind.  This  is  not  a  fault  of  your 
character,  but  of  your  system.  Alfred  has  con- 
vinced me  of  that.  He  says  you  have  been  entirely 
guided  by  the  desire  that  they  should  be  happy, 
and  a  confidence  that  they  would  be  good.  (The 
words  are  Alfred's.)  I  do  not  agree  with  you  as 
to  the  wisdom  of  this  course.  I  have  therefore 
decided  that,  unless  the  children  make  a  full  con- 
fession of  their  fault  and  promise  future  amend- 
ment, they  shall  be  sent  to  us.  I  shall  then 
do  my  best  to  deal  with  them  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  no  future   misdemeanor   is    likely  to  oc* 


264  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

cur.  It  is  Alfred's  suggestion  that  a  date  be 
set  for  their  coming.  Let  us  make  it  Tuesday 
next.' 

"  That  is  really  all,"  said  the  Grandmother,  in 
a  tired  tone.  "  The  rest  is  about  aprons,  school- 
books,  and  so  forth." 

I  don't  know  whether  she  looked  at  us.  We 
were  sitting  in  a  gloomy  silence,  staring  at  our 
feet.  None  of  us  dared  even  glance  at  Titania. 
Now,  we  felt,  she  had  found  us  out.  No  more 
"  Fairy  and  Other  Walks ",  no  more  silly  games 
running  through  the  woods,  no  more  Shakespeare 
plays.  Grandma  spoke  again,  and  her  voice  was 
trembling. 

"I'm  sure,  children,  you  will  see  exactly  how 
I  feel  about  this.  There  is  no  question  of  my 
wanting  you  to  go.  I  don't  really  quite  know  how 
I  am  going  to  live  without  you." 

Here  Marcia  shuffled  her  feet,  as  if  she  didn't 
want  to  hear  the  words  distinctly,  lest  they  make 
her  cry. 

"  I  may  not  feel  it  very  important  that  you 
should  tell  me  where  you  went,"  said  Grandma. 
"  But  I  am  not  a  wise  woman.  Your  other 
Grandma   has   far  more   character  than  I,  and  she 


The  Sentence  265 

has  brought  up  children  of  her  own  —  excellent 
children.  And  your  Uncle  Terry  and  I  think 
your  Just  Grandpa  agrees  with  her  that  it  is  not 
so  much  that  one  question  you  have  refused  to 
answer  as  that  you  don't  seem  to  understand  that  it 
is  right  to  obey  people  older  than  you  are.  Well," 
said  the  Grandma,  smiling  a  little  sorrowfully,  "  this 
is  a  long  speech.  But  the  point  of  it  is,  I've  got 
to  ask  you  again  where  you  went,  and  find  out 
whether  you  don't  think  it's  right  and  wise  to  tell 
me.  You  see,  my  little  dears,  I'm  almost  five  times 
as  old  as  Marcia,  and  more  than  five  times  older 
than  Ruth.  Don't  you  think  maybe  I've  learned 
a  few  rules  you'd  like  to  go  by  in  all  those  years  ?  " 

She  looked  so  sweet,  so  darling,  so  like  a  girl 
pleading  for  something  she  wanted  very  much  that 
I  didn't  see  how  anybody,  especially  the  three  who 
loved  her  so,  could  deny  her.  I  would  have  told 
her  in  a  minute  if  they'd  given  me  a  look ;  but  then 
I  wasn't  so  heroic  as  they  were,  and  there's  no 
doubt  I  didn't  have  so  splendid  an  idea  of  the 
honor  of  the  Tribe. 

"  Grandma  !  "  said  Marcia,  hoarsely. 

I  felt  Titania  was  turning  quickly  to  look  at  her. 
Now   I  saw  Titania's   face.     It  was   bright  with  a 


266  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

kind  of  listening  look,  as  if  she  hoped  nobody 
would  speak  too  hastily. 

"  Grandma  !  "  said  Marcia  again.  Kay  looked  at 
Marcia  and  nodded,  seeming  to  give  Marcia  the 
right  to  speak  for  us  all.  More  miserable  faces  I 
had  never  seen,  and  I  believe  my  own  must  have 
been  all  puckered  up  into  knots  of  care.  "  We 
can't,  Grandma,"  Marcia  burst  out,  in  that  hoarse 
voice.     "  We  just  can't  tell." 

"Well,"  said  Grandma,  gently,  after  a  minute, 
perhaps  to  get  her  own  voice  steady,  "  I'm  sorry, 
dear." 

"  No,"  said  Titania,  "  no  !  "  She  was  standing, 
and  we  all  rose  to  our  feet  without  knowing  why, 
and  looked  at  her.  Titania  was  beautiful  just  then. 
She  looked  all  alive,  and  as  if  in  another  minute 
she'd  do  something  to  save  the  day,  though  she 
might  not  know  quite  what.  "  Don't  decide  it 
now,"  she  said  to  Marcia.  "  Go  away  by  your- 
selves and  think  it  over.  You  know  that's  proper, 
Kay.  A  person  giving  evidence  must  make  up  his 
mind  carefully,  to  get  the  exact  right  and  wrong. 
You  see  that,  don't  you,  Kay  ?  You  see  it,  don't 
you,  Marcia?  Laura  sees  it,  I  know.  She  sees 
how  dreadful  it  would  be  to  have  the  Grandmother 


The  Sentence  267 

ask  for  anything  and  not  give  it  to  her.  Go  away 
and  think.  Talk  it  over.  Don't  answer  till 
to-morrow  if  you'd  rather  not.  You'll  wait,  Lady 
Grandma,  won't  you  ?     You'd  rather  wait?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Grandma,  sorrowfully,  "  I  can  wait." 
But  she  said  it  without  hope,  for  she  must  have 
known  what  obstinate  little  creatures  she  had  to 
deal  with,  and  perhaps  it  seemed  to  her  all  the  time 
as  if  we  loved  her  less  than  she  had  thought. 

"  Come,"  said  Marcia  to  us,  in  a  dull  tone,  "let's 
go  over  to  the  Wigwam." 

We  trailed  heavily  out,  and  got  our  hats  and 
coats,  and  took  the  wood  path  in  a  spirit  very  differ- 
ent from  the  one  that  had  raced  us  through  it  that 
morning. 

"  What  you  stopping  for  ?  "  Kay  asked,  when 
Marcia  turned  about  halfway. 

"  I'm  going  back  for  Pete,"  said  Marcia. 

We  understood  perfectly.  When  she  was  so 
deep  in  trouble,  she  had  to  have  Pete  to  help  her 
bear  it.     We  had  to  have  him,  too. 

While  we  waited  for  her,  and  kicked  the  leaves, 
Ruth  said  :  — 

"Well,  somebody's  told  something,  anyway. 
Marcia  said  before   them,    '  Let's  go  over  to   the 


268  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Wigwam'.     We  promised  we  wouldn't  tell  it  was 
the  Wigwam." 

"  Oh,"  said  Kay,  "  they  wouldn't  notice  that." 
And  then  Marcia  came  along  with  Pete  splaying 
and  frisking  over  us  as  if  to  tell  each  separately  how 
glad  he  was  to  be  called  in  consultation.  We  went 
on  to  the  Wigwam,  but  Pete  was  the  only  one  to 
frisk  and  make  the  most  of  the  bright  day. 


CHAPTER  XV 

RAIN-IN-THE-FACE 

WHEN  we  got  to  the  Wigwam,  Marcia 
went  about  in  a  wilted  kind  of  way  and 
made  the  fire,  and  then  we  drew  up  our 
chairs  and  sat,  "  all  mumped  up  ",  as  Eph  used  to 
say  about  hens,  when  they  felt  sick  and  ruffled  up 
their  feathers.  Pete  threw  himself  down  at  Marcia's 
feet,  drew  his  long  breath  and  was  off,  chasing  rab- 
bits in  Dreamland  perhaps :  because  it  wasn't  long 
before  his  hind  legs  began  to  twitch,  and  he  gave 
little  excited  whines. 

"  Well,"  said  Kay,  at  last,  "  what  are  we  going 
to  do?" 

"  Pick  up  our  things,"  said  Marcia,  gloomily. 
"  But  it's  no  use  carrying  games  and  books.  She 
won't  let  us  use  'em." 

"  She  won't  let  me  wear  my  ring,"  said   Ruth. 

"Oh,  dear!" 

Kay  tried  to  think  of  a  way  to  help  her  out. 

269 


270  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"You  can  tie  it  on  a  string,  and  wear  it  under 
your  dress,  round  your  neck,"  she  said. 

"  She'd  see  it  then,"  said  Ruth. 

I  believe  we  all  thought  Crandma  could  see 
through  a  door  or  the  wall  of  a  house. 

"  I've  got  that  little  chain  Grandma  gave  me  for 
my  locket,"  said  Marcia,  absently.  "  You  can  hang 
it  on  that." 

But  Ruth  would  not  be  comforted. 

"  It's  no  use,"  she  said.     "  She'd  know  it  then." 

None  of  us  saw  any  way  out  except  to  "tell", 
and  that  was  not  the  way  of  honor.  So  we 
thought.  I  did  see  a  little  gleam  of  hope,  and  I 
wished  they  might  spy  it,  too.  It  was  Titania. 
If  we  could  only  tell  Titania  the  whole  story,  she 
would  help  us.  But  how  could  we  tell  her  rather 
than  Grandma  ?  And  just  then  came  a  knock  at 
the  door.  Now  nobody  ever  knocked  at  that  door, 
unless  it  was  an  actor  in  a  play,  or  one  of  us  in 
a  game.  That  was  why  the  knock  startled  us  a 
little ;  and  we  sat  there  for  a  second  and  looked  at 
one  another.  In  a  minute  it  came  again,  and  then 
Marcia  rose  and  went  to  the  door.  It  was  Titania. 
There  she  stood  in  her  fur  jacket,  a  red  scarf  on 
her  head. 


Rain-in-the-Face  27 1 

"  O  Titania  !  M  Marcia  cried,  and  "  O  Titania  !  " 
cried  we  all. 

We  got  up  and  ran  to  her,  and  took  off  her 
scarf,  and  brought  her  chair  into  the  ring:  for  by 
this  time  Titania  had  a  chair  of  her  own.  I  don't 
know  what  we  expected  of  her ;  but  somehow,  now 
she  had  come,  we  thought  everything  would  be 
made  plain.  Titania  always  looked  lovely  and 
charming  and  bright ;  but  to-day  she  seemed  to  be 
more  of  all  those  things  than  ever.  She  looked  as 
if  she  might  be  on  an  adventure. 

"  Girls,"  said  she,  at  once,  "  I  believe  you're  a 
Tribe  of  Indians,  and  that  somehow  that's  con- 
nected with  it." 

We  didn't  look  at  one  another,  for  fear  she 
would  see  she  had  guessed.  She  must  be  really  a 
witch,  I  thought,  to  make  a  shot  like  that. 

"  Connected  with  what  ?  "  asked  Kay,  as  indiffer- 
ently as  she  could  manage. 

"  Connected  with  your  being  out  that  night,  and 
connected  with  your  not  telling.  Now  if  I've  guessed 
right,  you  ought  to  say  so.     It's  no  fair  not  to." 

We  sat  in  stiff  silence.  We  didn't  mean  to  be 
obstinate  or  hateful,  but  really  we  didn't  know  what 
to  do. 


272  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  I'll  go  into  the  corner  and  hold  my  hands  over 
my  ears,"  said  Titania,  "  and  you  can  talk  it  over. 
Only  don't  be  long.  It's  cold  here,  except  near 
the  fire." 

We  let  her  do  it,  and  the  minute  she  was  in  the 
corner,  her  fingers  in  her  ears,  Ruth  said  hopefully, 
almost  with  glee,  indeed  :  — 

"  We  said  Flutino  could  come  into  the  Tribe  if 
he  guessed." 

"Yes,"  said  Marcia,  doubtfully.  She  looked  at 
Kay. 

"Well,  Titania  guessed.  So  she  can  come  in," 
said  Kay.  "  Only  she  needn't  know.  Grandma's 
Pocahontas,  but  she  doesn't  know  she  is." 

"Oh,  that's  a  crawl-off,"  said  Marcia.  "You 
know  it  is.  When  we  said  Flutino  could  come  in 
if  he  guessed,  we  meant  really  in,  same  as  we  are 
now ;  and  Titania's  guessed,  and  she  ought  to  come 
just  that  same  way." 

Kay  wanted  her  as  much  as  we  did ;  but  she  never 
could  decide  a  thing  without  looking  the  arguments 
over  carefully,  as  a  lady  buys  a  yard  of  lace. 

"  I  s'pose  we  want  her  in,"  said  she. 

"Want  her!"  Marcia  repeated,  and  I  said,  more 
faintly,   but   with   no    less    feeling,    "Want    her!" 


Rain-in-the-Face  273 

Was  there  a  minute  when  we  didn't  want  Titania? 
Kay's  face  lighted  up  now,  in  sudden  triumph. 

"  And  don't  you  see,"  she  said,  "  if  she's  in  the 
Tribe,  we  can  tell  her  things,  and  she  can  advise  us 
what  to  do ;  but  she  can't  tell  outside  any  more 
than  we  can.     Titania  !  " 

When  we  had  all  called  her  name,  Titania  took 
her  hands  away  from  her  ears  and  turned  and  said, 
"Now?"  She  came  back  to  the  fire,  and  Marcia 
asked,  at  once  :  — 

"What  should  you  say  if  we  invited  you  to  join 
a  Tribe  of  Indians  ? " 

"  I  should  say,"  Titania  answered,  promptly, 
"that  I  should  be  proud  and  happy.  Is  there  any 
initiation  fee  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Kay. 

"  But  there's  promises,"  said  Ruth.  "  You  have 
to  promise  you  won't  tell  anything  that's  told  you 
or  anything  we  do." 

Titania  drew  her  mouth  down. 

"  I  don't  like  that,"  she  said.  "  It  gets  you  into 
awful  scrapes." 

"  Awfully,"  Ruth  corrected  her  gently. 

When  she  tacked  a  y  on  she  seemed  to  feel 
Crandma  would  know  it  and  approve.     But  nobody 


274  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

noticed  her.  We  were  too  excited.  Here  was 
Titania  half  in  the  Tribe  and  half  out,  and  hesitat- 
ing because  she  didn't  like  one  of  its  principal  rules. 

"  Who's  your  Chief? "  said  she. 

"  We're  all  chiefs,"  said  Marcia,  proudly. 

"  Oh,"  said  Titania,  shaking  her  head,  "  I  don't 
think  you  can  do  it  that  way.  In  a  real  Tribe, 
there  has  to  be  one  Big  Chief,  and  you  have  to 
do  what  he  says." 

"Then,"  said  Marcia,  "you  come  in,  and  you 
can  be  the  Chief." 

"  No,"  said  Titania,  "  it  ought  to  be  a  brave  of 
years  and  great  prowess,  one  who  has  been  long  on 
the  trail  and  has  taken  many  scalps." 

"  Yes  !  yes  !  "  said  Kay,  in  hot  excitement. 

"  Yes  !  Yes  !  "  said  Marcia. 

Titania  evidently  knew  how  to  treat  a  Tribe. 

"  Now  I,"  said  she,  "  am  but  a  young  brave. 
There  are  many  things  that  an  older  chief,  sitting 
by  the  camp-fire,  could  tell  me.  I  am  untried  as 
yet  at  the  council  or  on  the  trail.  I  love  bright 
wampum,  but  I  have  not  earned  it.  Tell  me, 
braves,  is  she  who  is  known  by  Pale  Faces  as  the 
Grandmother  in  this  Tribe  ?  " 

Then  she  gave  a  perfectly  splendid  grunt  of  the 


Rain-in-the-Face  275 

kind  that  is  set  down  as  "  Ugh  "  in  Indian  stories. 
That  won  us  completely.  If  ever  there  was  a  brave, 
she  must  be  the  one.  We  had  had  great  trouble 
with  "  Ugh  ".  Kay  and  Marcia  could  grunt  mag- 
nificently, but  Ruth  contended  that,  if  the  books 
spelled  it  as  they  did,  it  must  be  pronounced 
"  Ugg ",  and  when  she  did  it,  we  got  into  fits  of 
laughter  and  called  it  "  ugg  "  ourselves.  But  Ti- 
tania  knew  the  proper  style. 

"  Why,"  said  Marcia,  "  Grandma's  in  the  Tribe, 
in  a  kind  of  a  way,  only  she  doesn't  know  it. 
She's  Pocahontas,  but  'course  we  never  call  her 
so. 

"  Then,"  said  Titania,  firmly,  "  Pocahontas  is 
by  right  of  age  and  wisdom  the  Chief  of  this 
Tribe." 

KaY  gigged. 

"  Oh,"  said  she,  "  Pocahontas  is  a  woman.  She's 
a  squaw.  You  can't  have  a  woman  for  a  chief. 
You  can't  have  a  squaw." 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  can,"  said  Titania.  "  You 
couldn't  once,  but  you  can  now.  Squaws  are  very 
different  from  what  they  used  to  be  in  the  time  of 
Deerfield  and  Schenectady." 

We  too  knew  about  the  massacres  of  Deerfield 


276  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

and  Schenectady,  and  her  bringing  them  in  so  pat 
and  showing  she  was  up  in  redskins'  little  ways,  so 
many  years  ago,  had  a  great  effect  on  us.  We  felt 
Titania  knew  what  she  was  talking  about. 

"Can  they  truly?"  asked  Kay.  "Can  squaws 
be  chiefs  ? " 

"  They  are  chiefs  in  lots  of  Tribes,"  said  Titania, 
"  white  Tribes  and  all  kinds  of  Tribes.  If  I  were 
you,  I  shouldn't  lose  a  minute.  I  should  make 
Pocahontas  the  Chief." 

It  seemed  to  involve  a  great  deal  of  explanation. 

"  She  doesn't  even  know  she's  an  Indian,"  said 
Kay.  "  And  if  we  told  her  she  was  the  Chief,  we 
should  have  to  explain,  and  perhaps  she  wouldn't 
want  to  —  and  everything  like  that." 

"Don't  tell  her  then,"  said  Titania.  "Only 
if  she  asks  you  sometime  or  wants  to  know.  But 
just  make  her  the  Chief  right  off  now,  and  treat  her 
like  a  chief." 

"  Then  will  you  join  the  Tribe  ?  "  asked  Ruth. 

"  I'll  be  proud  and  pleased,"  Titania  said,  and 
Kay  asked  her  :  — 

"  What'll  you  have  your  name  ?  " 

"  Rain-in-the-Face,"  said  Titania,  "because  I 
should  cry  so  hard  if  I  had  to  go  away  from  you." 


Rain-in-the-Face  277 

Then  there  was  a  tumult  of  rejoicing  in  which 
Pete  became  prominent ;  and  when  we  had  quieted, 
we  got  up  and  clasped  hands  in  a  ring  and  said, 
solemnly  :  — 

"  We  elect  Pocahontas  to  be  the  Chief  of  this 
Tribe.,, 

That  might  not  have  been  the  way  chiefs  were 
elected,  but  it  seemed  to  answer  every  purpose. 

"Well,"  said  Titania,  when  we  had  sat  down 
again,  "  you're  out  of  your  troubles  now,  aren't 
you  ? "  We  had  forgotten  our  troubles  for  a 
minute,  it  was  true,  but  we  didn't  see  how  we  had 
escaped  them.  "  Pocahontas  is  the  Chief,"  said 
Titania.  "  When  the  Chief  commands  you  to  do 
anything,  you've  got  to  do  it.  So  now  you  can 
tell  her  all  about  the  night  she  asked  you  about, 
and  that's  the  end  of  that." 

We  looked  at  one  another.  We  hadn't  thought 
of  that.  To  be  sure  we  could  tell ;  but  did  we 
want  to,  when  it  came  to  the  point  ?  Were  things 
ever  going  to  be  so  much  fun  again,  if  we  told  even 
Grandma  everything  ? 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Kay,  slowly.  "I  don't 
know  as  we  want  to  tell." 

Then  she  thought  it  over  for  an  instant,  as  we  all 


278  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

did,  and  added  what  we,  too,  concluded,  "  But  of 
course  we've  got  to.  She's  the  Chief  now.  We've 
elected  her.     We  can't  help  ourselves." 

"  Now  I'll  tell  you  what  I  think,"  said  Titania, 
quickly.  "  Pocahontas  wouldn't  be  Chief  for  any- 
thing if  you  didn't  really  want  her,  and  she 
wouldn't  even  wish  you  to  tell  her  things  or  mind 
her  if  you  didn't  do  it  willingly.  No,  I  mean 
more  than  willingly.  Gladly !  She'd  want  you 
to  love  her  so  you  did  it  gladly." 

"  The  trouble  is  — "  said  Marcia.  Then  she 
stopped.  We  had  a  general  idea  of  what  she  must 
be  going  to  say,  and  we  knew  there  was  no  way  to 
say  it. 

"  What  is  the  trouble  ?  "  Titania  asked. 

"  The  trouble  is,"  Marcia  continued,  "  you  can't 
tell  folks  things,  many  things.  After  they're  grown 
up,  they  don't — understand." 

Titania  nodded. 

"  I'm  grown-up,"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  no,  you're  not,"  we  cried  all  together. 
"  But  Grandma  —  why,  she's  got  gray  hair !  " 

"  Now,"  said  Titania,  u  you  listen  to  me.  And 
you  believe  me,  too.  I'm  Rain-in-the-Face ! 
Great    Chief!     Ugh ! "     So   we    listened.     "  Most 


Rain-in-the-Face  279 

of  the  people  you  call  grown-up  aren't  grown  up  at 
all.  Only  they  don't  tell  you  so.  They  think 
you'd  laugh.  But  when  their  hair  is  white,  it's  the 
fashion  for  them  to  behave  in  a  certain  way.  So 
they  Pretend." 

"  But  they  don't  do  the  same  things  we  do," 
said  Kay,  quickly.  "They  don't  want  to  do 
'em." 

"  They  don't  do  'em,"  said  Titania,  "  because 
they've  done  them  all  once.  You  don't  play 
c  button-button '  now.  You  act  in  Shakespeare's 
plays."  We  drew  long  breaths  and  felt  important. 
"  I'm  not  Rain-in-the-Face  for  a  minute,"  said 
Titania.  "I'm  a  Pale  Face,  talking  straight  talk. 
I'm  going  to  make  a  story  of  it.  Once  there  was 
a  palace — No,  there  is  a  palace.  It  is.  In  one 
room  all  the  things  are  little :  little  chairs  and 
tables,  little  cats  and  dogs,  little  cookies  and  little 
everything.  You  can  break  off  chocolate  and 
crumbly  gingerbread  anywhere." 

We  drew  a  long  breath.  That  was  the  kind  of 
palace  to  have. 

"You  live  in  it  a  long  time,"  said  Titania. 
"  That  is,  it  seems  a  long  time.  But  by  and  by  you 
begin  to  feel  the  chairs  are  too  small  and  you  can't 


280  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

sit  in  them,  and  the  tables  are  too  low  and  you  have 
to  bend  over." 

"  That's  growing  up,"  said  Kay. 

"Then  the  wind  rises  and  blows  the  glass  out  of 
the  windows,  and  it  blows  you  into  another  room. 
The  door  shuts  behind  you." 

"Is  there  any  gingerbread  in  that  room?"  Ruth 
asked,  eagerly.     "  Or  any  chocolate  ?  " 

"  Yes,  only  it  isn't  quite  the  same.  You  have  to 
make  it  there.  You  have  to  take  the  sugar  and 
the  chocolate  and  boil  them  and  drop  into  molds, 
and  you  have  to  stir  up  the  gingerbread  and  bake 
it.  If  you  didn't,  I  don't  believe  you'd  have  any 
at  all.  And  you  have  to  make  a  lot,  because  you 
make  it  for  the  other  room  —  the  one  with  the 
little  things  —  too." 

"  Can't  you  ever  go  back  into  the  little  room  ? " 
Ruth  asked. 

The  rest  of  us  felt  so  serious  over  the  question  of 
the  two  rooms  that  we  couldn't  put  any  questions 
at  all. 

"That's  it,"  said  Titania.  "You  can  go  back  — 
to  visit.  You  can't  go  back  to  stay.  And  think 
how  lonesome  it  is  when  the  little  people  sitting 
in  the  little  chairs  and  eating  the  crumbly  ginger- 


Rain-in-the-Face  281 

bread  you  have  made  for  them,  say, c  Go  out  of  here. 
Go  back  into  your  own  room.  We  don't  want 
you/  " 

Kay  and  Marcia  were  crimson. 

"  We  never  did,"  said  Marcia.  "  We  wouldn't 
say  such  a  thing.     Not  to  her,  anyway." 

She  meant  the  Grandmother.  But  we  knew  she 
thought  the  keeping  Grandma  out  of  our  Pretends 
was  just  the  same  as  telling  her  to  go  into  the  next 
room. 

"  Are  there  other  rooms  ?  "  Ruth  asked.  "  More 
than  those  two  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Titania,  "  but  we  needn't  think  of 
those  yet." 

"  They  don't  want  to  play,"  Marcia  burst  out. 
"  Old  folks  don't." 

"  Not  all  the  time,"  said  Titania.  "  But  some- 
times we  act  as  if  they  couldn't  play.  Why,  they 
can  play  better  than  we  can,  because  they  know  all 
the  games.  They've  lived  in  the  room  with  the 
little  tables  and  chairs,  and  they've  lived  in  the 
room  where  the  chocolates  and  gingerbread  are 
made.  So  they  don't  know  fewer  games.  They 
know  more.  They  haven't  forgotten  how  to  Pre- 
tend.    They  can  Pretend  better." 


282  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

We  were  fascinated  by  the  idea  of  these  sober 
grown-ups  Pretending. 

"  What  do  you  think  they  Pretend  ?  "  asked  Kay. 

"  I  think,  most  of  the  time,"  said  Titania,  "  they 
Pretend  to  be  happy  when  they're  not.  And  if 
they  have  to  play  a  game,  they  Pretend  it's  a  nice 
game,  and  they'd  rather  play  it  than  anything  else." 

"  I  don't  believe  Crandma  Pretends,"  said  Mar- 
cia,  decidedly. 

"  You  can't  tell,"  said  Titania.  "  Maybe  she 
Pretends  it's  just  as  well  to  have  grandchildren  that 
don't  like  her,  though  she  wishes  awfully  they 
did." 

"We  can't  like  her,"  said  Kay.  "She  always 
thinks  her  own  way's  the  best  way,  better'n  Grand- 
ma's or  anybody's." 

Titania  began  to  laugh.  We  didn't  see  anything 
to  laugh  at. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  we  all  asked,  one  after  another. 

If  there  was  anything  funny,  we  wanted  to  be 
in  it.  Titania  kept  on  laughing  and  we  kept  on 
saying :  — 

"What  is  it?    what  is  it?" 

"  I  don't  dare  to  tell  you,"  said  she,  at  last. 

Titania  not  dare?     She  looked  so  pretty  when 


Rain-in-the-Face  2  83 

she  said  it  that  she  must  have  known  she  could  dare 
anything. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  said  Kay. 

"You'll  be  mad/'  said  Titania,  just  as  if  she  were 
as  much  a  child  and  perhaps  as  much  of  an  imp 
as  we. 

No,  we  wouldn't  be  mad.  We  swore  it.  We 
crossed  our  throats  and  crossed  our  hearts. 

"Well,"  said  Titania,  "I've  heard  a  lot  about 
Crandma  from  one  person  and  another,  and  I  think 
I  know  what's  made  her  think  her  own  way  is  better 
than  anybody's." 

"What?"  we  cried. 

We  began  to  hope  if  we  had  got  as  far  as  finding 
out  the  reason,  something  might  be  done. 

"Because  she's  always  had  her  own  way,"  said 
Titania.  "She's  had  it  till  she  doesn't  see  there's 
any  other.  And  —  "  she  looked  at  us  in  turn,  and 
sparks  were  frolicking  in  her  eyes  — "  if  you  four 
don't  look  out  and  begin  to  walk  Spanish,  you'll  be 
just  like  her." 

Here  was  a  blow.  We  stared  at  her  in  silence, 
and  I  dare  say  we  looked  very  much  alarmed.  Kay 
was  the  first  to  pluck  up  courage. 

"What's  walking  Spanish  ?  "  she  inquired,  faintly. 


284  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"It's  behaving  yourselves,"  said  Titania.  Now 
we  had  got  so  far,  she  seemed  perfectly  willing  to 
mention  the  worst  she  thought.  "It's  doing  what 
the  Grandmother  tells  you  to.  It's  doing  what  the 
governess  tells  you." 

"We've  done  everything  you  told  us,"  said 
Marcia,  feebly.     "Every  single  thing." 

"  Bless  you,"  said  Titania.  "  But  that's  nothing. 
Haven't  we  had  a  gay  old  time  doing  it  ? " 

We  had.     We  owned  it  rapturously. 

"Well,  what  you've  got  to  do,"  said  Titania,  "if 
you're  ever  going  to  be  worth  your  salt,  is  to  do 
what  you  don't  like,  too.  If  Amy  Fullerton  tells 
you  to  find  out  the  cubic  contents  of  forty  thousand 
acres  of  wheat  that  isn't  yet  sown,  you  must  do 
it."  She  must  have  seen  doubt  in  our  faces,  for 
she  added,  "  I  don't  care  if  you  can't.  You've 
got  to." 

We  didn't  see  exactly  what  she  meant,  but  we 
began  to  have  a  feeling  that  to  do  a  thing  when  you 
couldn't  was  very  splendid,  and  we'd  got  to  enter 
for  it.  We  didn't  say  anything.  We  looked  into 
the  fire,  and  though  it  was  dying  down,  nobody 
moved  to  put  on  a  stick. 

"  I  don't  care,"  said  Kay,  suddenly.      "  I  don't 


Rain-in-the-Face  285 

believe  old  folks  do  want  to  play,  or  they'd  do  it 
They  wouldn't  mind  what  anybody  said." 

"Well,"  said  Titania,  "their  plays  are  different. 
Sometimes  they're  only  looking  on.  Just  like 
going  to  the  theatre,  Marcia.  Is  there  anything 
nicer  than  that  ?  " 

No,  Marcia  thought  there  was  nothing  nicer. 

"  But,"  said  Titania,  "  sometimes  they  do  like  to 
go  into  the  room  where  the  little  chairs  and  tables 
are,  and  play  just  as  we  do.  When  we  had  Red 
Riding  Hood,  did  anybody  play  better  or  play 
harder  than  the  Good  Fairy  ?  And  wasn't  that 
Grandma  ?" 

It  certainly  was.  Everything  she  said  had  a  way 
of  sounding  true.  Again  we  thought  it  over. 
Then  Marcia  got  up,  and  Pete  was  instantly  on  his 
feet,  wagging,  "  Ready  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  Marcia,  "if  we've  got  to  tell 
Grandma,  we  might  as  well  go  and  do  it." 

"  Pocahontas  ?  "  said  Titania,  "  the  Chief?  " 

That  made  it  seem  a  little  easier  and  a  Httie  more 
like  the  way  we  liked  things  to  be.  It  is  astonish- 
ing to  think  how  much  pleasanter  things  are  if  there 
is  a  little  bit  of  Pretend  in  them.  We  all  got  up 
then,  and  Titania  asked:  — 


286  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Don't  I  have  to  promise  anything,  or  have  my 
arm  pricked  or  something,  so  I  shall  be  really  in 
the  Tribe  ?  I  want  to  be  in  so  there'll  be  no  way 
to  get  me  out,  no  matter  how  poor  a  brave  I 
am. 

We  wondered  how  she  should  know  exactly  what 
it  was  proper  to  do  to  make  a  promise  binding ;  but 
then  we  remembered  she  had  been  in  the  room 
where  the  little  tables  and  chairs  are  and  the  choco- 
late and  crumbly  gingerbread,  and  that  now  she 
didn't  seem  more  than  half  over  the  sill. 

"  There's  no  jelly  here,"  said  Kay,  doubtfully, 
and  even  that  didn't  surprise  her. 

She  listened  quite  gravely  while  we  discussed  it, 
and  when  we  decided  that  it  would  do  to  put  the 
initiation  off  till  to-morrow,  said  she  was  rather  glad, 
because  she'd  like  to  have  on  her  brightest  wam- 
pum. So  we  went  out  of  the  Wigwam,  and  were 
walking  soberly  home  when  Kay  remembered  a 
question  we'd  all  thought  of  and  forgotten. 

"Titania,  how  did  you  guess  it?  How  did  you 
guess  there  was  a  Tribe  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  Titania,  "  one  of  you  said  c  wigwam  ', 
and  I  thought  if  there  was  a  Wigwam  there  must  be 
a  Tribe.     And  you  hadn't  told  me  anything  about 


Rain-in-the-Face  287 

the  Tribe  any  more  than  you  had  about  the  night 
you  ran  away,  and  I  guessed  they  might  have  some- 
thing to  do  with  each  other.     That's  all." 

"  Why/'  said  Kay,  "  we  haven't  told  you  yet 
about  That  Night.  And  now  you're  in  the  Tribe, 
we  can." 

"  Not  just  yet,"  said  Titania,  "  not  till  you've 
told  Pocahontas.  The  Great  Chief  must  know 
things  before  the  other  braves." 

We  felt  this  was  fair  and  what  a  Tribe  should  do ; 
but  we  walked  on,  feeling  rather  sober  over  it.  We 
were  glad  it  had  been  made  right  for  us  to  tell ;  we 
were  tired  of  not  telling.  We  were  so  relieved  we 
couldn't  talk  about  it,  to  think  that  now  we  could 
be  forgiven  by  Just  Grandpa  and  not  have  to  go 
and  live  with  Crandma.  But  it  still  seemed  as  if 
there  was  not  going  to  be  quite  so  much  fun. 
Marcia  opened  the  door  and  let  Titania  go  in  first. 
Then,  when  we  were  inside,  Titania  stood  back  to 
let  us  precede  her :  for  Grandma  sat  by  the  window, 
and  I  think  Titania  knew  we  should  want  to  speak 
at  once  and  have  it  over.  We  went  in  in  a  sort  of 
disorderly  bunch,  full  of  our  important  news.  We 
were  going  to  confess.  We  thought  it  a  grand 
thing  to  do,  and  that  everybody  would  listen  hard  to 


288  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

every  word,  and  then  say  "  How  noble  !  "  Perhaps 
the  story  would  even  be  written  to  Aunt  Tabitha, 
and  she  would  think  I  was  even  a  more  glorious 
child  than  she  had  dreamed,  and  had  had  "  an  in- 
fluence "  over  the  naughty  others.  Perhaps  Uncle 
Terry  —  There  stood  Uncle  Terry  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor.  He  held  some  yellow  slips  of  paper. 
He  seemed  to  have  been  reading  from  them,  some- 
thing important,  we  saw,  for  the  Grandmother 
looked  as  excited  as  he. 

"Grandmother  — "  began  Marcia,  but  nobody 
seemed  to  hear  her. 

Grandma  looked  at  Titania  and  smiled  and  nodded. 
And  Uncle  Terry,  who  had  all  this  time  been  so  stiff 
and  proud  whenever  Titania  even  glanced  his  way, 
turned  straight  to  her  and  said:  — 

"  Listen  to  this.     It's  from  Drayton." 

I  remembered  who  Drayton  was.  Uncle  Terry  had 
sent  his  play  to  him.  He  hadn't  said  a  word  about 
the  play  since  Titania  came,  but  before  that  he  was 
always  talking  to  Grandma  about  Drayton.  Some- 
times he  said:  "If  Drayton  would  play  a  thing  of 
mine,  I  should  be  made.,,  Sometimes  he  said : 
"  Not  a  word  from  Drayton !  I  bet  you  he  hasn't 
even  read  it."     The  telegram  was  a  long  one.     It 


Rain-in-the-Face  289 

was  all  about  the  play.  Drayton  thought  it  was 
"  tremendous  ".  He  should  be  in  New  York  in  a 
week,  and  then  would  Uncle  Terry  come  on  and 
sign  the  contract  and  talk  things  over.  He  should 
begin  rehearsals  at  once,  and  "  try  it  out  in  Minne- 
apolis ".  I  thought  Drayton  must  be  a  very  rich 
and  extravagant  gentleman  to  send  so  long  a  tel- 
egram. When  Aunt  Tabitha  sent  one,  as  she  did 
once,  I  remembered,  to  Mr.  Meredith,  she  took 
half  an  hour  trying  to  get  it  all  into  ten  words.  One 
part  of  the  telegram  I  didn't  understand.  "  If  it 
hadn't  been  for  your  wife's  magnificent  acting  of 
your  one-act  play,  I  never  should  have  taken  this. 
Your  genius  is  peculiar.  She  made  me  see  what  is  in 
you."  When  Uncle  Terry  got  to  that,  his  voice 
sounded  queer,  and  he  didn't  look  at  anybody.  He 
stood  staring  at  the  paper,  and  I  saw  his  hand  shake 
a  little.  I  thought  somebody  would  say  something 
in  a  minute  and  tell  what  it  all  meant;  but  Uncle 
Terry  dropped  the  hand  that  held  the  paper  and 
stood  there  looking  straight  ahead  of  him,  and  then 
he  put  his  lips  tight  together  and  made  a  queer 
sound  in  his  throat,  and  turned,  and  went  out  of  the 
room  in  about  two  steps.  Grandma  looked  at  Ti- 
tania  again, 
u 


290  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  My  dear !  "  said  she,  and  held  out  her  arms. 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Titania,  in  a  kind  of  choked  voice. 
"  Oh,  do  you  think  —  "  but  she  didn't  finish.  She 
ran  to  the  Grandmother,  and  sank  down  on  the 
floor  beside  her,  and  the  Grandmother  put  her  arms 
round  her,  and  they  rocked  back  and  forth  and  cried 
a  little  and  then  laughed.  And  we  stood  there  in  a 
huddling  group,  like  frightened  sheep,  and  very 
lonesome  and  very  small.  For  things  were  hap- 
pening that  we  didn't  understand  in  the  least,  and 
everybody  had  forgotten  all  about  us.  Here  were 
we,  ready  to  make  our  great  sacrifice  and  tell  our 
secrets,  and  promise  to  tell  more,  and  do  what  other 
people  expected,  and  now  nobody  was  listening.  It 
came  over  us  all  at  once,  I  think,  that  the  people  in 
the  second  room  in  the  palace  had  their  secrets,  too, 
and  they  weren't  telling  them  any  more  than  we 
were. 

Titania  was  the  first  to  remember  us.  She 
lifted  her  face  from  Grandma's  arm,  and  we  could  see 
she  had  really  cried :  for  there  were  tear  splotches 
on  the  lovely  cheek,  and  she  took  out  her  little 
handkerchief  and  dabbed  at  Grandma's  sleeve  where 
the  tears  had  wet  it,  and  said  she  had  spoiled  the 
pretty  gown. 


Rain-in-the-Face  29 1 

"I'm  glad  of  it,"  said  Grandma.  "If  it  makes  a 
spot,  I  shall  love  to  look  at  it  and  remember  this 
day." 

Marcia  was  turning  softly,  to  get  out  of  the  room. 
That  must  have  made  Titania  think  of  us.  She 
sprang  to  her  feet. 

"  O  children  !  "  said  she.  "  I  forgot.  I  mustn't 
keep  you  from  Grandma.     I'll  run  away." 

Children !  she  hadn't  called  us  children  once 
before.  We  felt  as  if  we  were  really  alone  in  the 
room  of  the  little  tables  and  little  chairs.  Titania 
had  gone  out  and  shut  the  door.  She  and 
Grandma  were  in  the  other  room,  and  we  were 
lonesome.  Marcia  kept  on  straight  toward  the 
hall.  Kay  was  crying  softly,  and  Marcia  —  but  I 
didn't  really  see  it  and  I  tried  not  to.  For  Marcia 
was  too  proud  to  cry,  and  if  she  did,  a  tear  or  two, 
if  you  liked   her  you   wouldn't  notice  it. 

"  Children ! "  Titania  was  calling  after  us. 
"  Girls ! " 

We  didn't  stop.  We  somehow  couldn't.  We 
went  upstairs  into  Kay-and-Marcia's  room,  and 
there  remembered  we  hadn't  taken  off  our  things. 
So  we  threw  them  down  in  a  careless  way,  as  if  we 
might  never  need  to  put  them  on  again,  and  so  it 


292  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

was  just  as  well  to  have  them  in  what  Mary  called 
a  "wopse";  and  then  we  tried  to  find  something  to 
do,  to  appear  unconcerned  and  keep  us  from  look- 
ing at  one  another.  Marcia  washed  her  hands,  and 
Kay  took  out  a  pile  of  handkerchiefs  and  began 
assorting  them,  as  if  it  were  the  most  important 
thing  in  the  world. 

"  I  must  turn  my  ring,"  said  Ruth. 

Why  she  said  it  and  why  she  carefully  turned  the 
ring  we  didn't  know,  and  I'm  sure  she  didn't.  I 
stood  at  the  window  drumming  on  the  pane  to  the 
"Faust  March"  I  had  heard  Flutino  whistling  that 
morning. 

"  Laura,"  said  Kay,  sharply, "  I  wish  you'd  stop 
that  noise." 

I  did  stop  it.  Then  I  did  something  worse.  I 
asked  a  question. 

"  What  do  you  s'pose  the  telegram  meant  by  his 
wife  acting  in  his  play  ?  " 

"  I  know,"  said  Ruth.  "  She  must  have  acted 
in  it  before  she  died." 

"  Was  she  an  actress  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Yes,  I  s'pose  so,"  said  Ruth.  "  Of  course  she 
was,  if  she  acted  in  the  play." 

U  But   what  made  him    look   so  ? "    I   went  on. 


Rain-in-the-Face  293 

stupidly.  "  He  looked  as  if  he  was  going  to  cry. 
And  then  he  ran  right  out  of  the  room.  I  bet  he 
did  cry,  too." 

"  They  always  cry  when  they  think  about  the 
loved  and  lost,"  said  Ruth,  and  Marcia  turned 
upon  her. 

"  Ruth,"  said  she,  "  I  wish  you  wouldn't  talk 
that  kind  of  sickening  talk.  Anyway,  if  you're 
going  to  do  it,  you  needn't  do  it  in  here.  This  is 
our  room,  and  when  you're  in  here  you've  got 
to  behave  yourself." 

Now  Kay  was  just  as  much  upset  as  Marcia,  and 
just  as  nervous. 

"  It's  my  room  as  much  as  it  is  yours,"  she  said, 
crossly.  "  And  Ruth  can  say  what  she  wants  to,  in 
my  half  of  it,  anyway." 

"Then,"  said  Marcia,  "if  it's  half  yours  and  half 
mine,  we'll  divide  it.     Here's  a  string." 

And  they  were  so  cross  and  so  miserable  that 
they  actually  did  pounce  on  the  new  ball  of  twine 
they  had  bought  for  kites,  and  Marcia  tied  one  end 
to  the  gas  jet,  and  they  began  to  divide  the  room. 
If  they  had  suddenly  gone  crazy,  Ruth  and  I 
couldn't  have  been  more  amazed.  We  hurried  to 
the  door,  trying  to  be  as  small  as  possible  and  make 


294  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

as  little  noise,  and  when  we'd  got  the  door  open 

and  I  was  out,  Ruth  hesitated  a  minute,  to  ask,  in  a 

little  voice :  — 

"  When  are  we  going  to  tell  Pocahontas  ?  " 

"  Never,"    said     Marcia.       "  Don't    stay     here 

bothering.     We've  got  to  divide  this  room.,, 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    GOOSE    GIRL    AND    THE    PRINCESS 

THE  end  of  this  parting  was  that  we  didn't 
have  supper  with  Pocahontas  and  Rain-in- 
the-Face.  Nobody  seemed  to  want  to  be 
with  anybody  else,  except,  perhaps,  those  two  hug- 
ging each  other  in  the  sitting  room.  As  Ruth  and 
I  fled  down  the  stairs,  we  saw  Uncle  Terry  dis- 
appearing at  the  front  door,  and  we,  too,  went  out 
to  stand  on  the  porch  and  wonder  what  was  going 
to  happen  now  Kay  and  Marcia  had  divided  their 
room.  Uncle  Terry  kept  straight  on  "  up  street ", 
and  Ruth  guessed  he  was  going  to  answer  the 
telegram  and  tell  the  actor  how  glad  he  was  his  play 
had  been  taken.  We  didn't  quite  know  where  to 
go.  We  didn't  want  to  go  in,  because  we  felt  the 
Grandmother  and  Titania  were  talking  together  and 
didn't  expect  us,  and  we  couldn't  bear  to  disturb 
Kay  and  Marcia  since  they  had  quarrelled.  Then 
we  heard  a  whistle,  bold  and  free.     It  was  Flutino 

295 


296  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

whistling  "  The  Minstrel  Boy ",  and  in  a  second 
here  he  was,  coming  up  the  path. 

"  Mother  wants  to  know,"  he  began,  the  minute 
he  saw  us,  "  if  you'll  all  four  come  down  to  tea. 
Waffles!     And  Bridget's  got  the  irons  all  hot." 

He  seemed  like  an  angel  come  to  promise  supper 
to  our  little  bodies  and  peace  to  our  troubled  souls. 

"  Til  ask  Grandma,"  said  Ruth.  Then  she 
hesitated.  For  some  reason  we  couldn't  have  told, 
it  didn't  seem  possible  to  ask  a  favor  of  her  before 
we  had  made  our  confession.  And  whether  we 
were  ever  going  to  make  that  now  that  the  grown- 
ups were  busy  with  their  own  affairs  and  had  for- 
gotten all  about  us,  we  didn't  know.  "  Flutino," 
said  Ruth. 

"Yes,"  said  Flutino. 

"You  go  ask  Grandma.  She's  in  the  sitting 
room." 

"All  right,"  said  Flutino.  He  never  expected 
reasons,  but  went  straight  ahead  doing  whatever 
would  make  everybody  the  more  at  ease. 

When  he  had  gone  in,  we  stood  still  and  listened, 
though  it  wouldn't  have  done  us  any  good  through 
the  thick  hall  door,  and  in  a  minute  he  was  out 
again. 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         297 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  only  you've  got  to  come  home 
straight  after  supper." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Ruth. 

"  I  don't  know  why,"  said  Flutino,  "  only  you've 
got  to.     Where  are  the  rest  ?  " 

"  Up  in  Kay-and-Marcia's  room,"  said  Ruth. 
"  Come  out  on  the  grass  and  whistle." 

So  he  did  whistle,  not  the  "  Minstrel  Boy  "  this 
time,  but  "  Come  o'er  the  Stream,  Charlie  ",  which 
meant,  with  Flutino  and  us,  that  whenever  you 
heard  it  and  whatever  you  were  doing,  you  were 
to  "rush".  Kay  came  to  the  window  and  threw 
up  the  sash. 

"What  is  it?"  she  asked.  She  didn't  look 
hot  and  cross  now.  She  looked  pale  and  as  if 
she  were  rather  frightened  at  having  things  go  so 
far. 

"Waffles,"  said  Flutino.  "They're  all  stirred 
up.     Come  on." 

I  didn't  think  they  would  come  if  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  a  quarrel.  I  thought  they'd  be  too 
miserable.  But  I  was  wrong.  In  a  minute  they 
appeared,  both  a  little  queer  as  well  as  pale,  and 
Pete  came  with  them.  He  was  in  his  usual  spirits. 
We  raced  down  to  Flutino's,  and  while  Bridget  was 


298  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

giving  a  last  stir,  we  went  round  to  the  low  shed  at 
the  back  of  the  house,  and  Marcia  told  me  how  they 
used  it  to  play  "The  Witch  of  the  Glass  Moun- 
tain ".  The  game  took  them  up  over  the  shed  roof, 
and  Mrs.  Gray  always  thought  they  would  break 
their  necks ;  but  they  never  did. 

"  Oh,  can't  we  do  it  now  ? "  I  begged,  but  Marcia 
said  there  wasn't  time  before  the  waffles. 

"  Besides,"  said  Flutino,  "  it's  a  warm  weather 
play.     We'll  do  it  first  thing  in  the  spring." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marcia,  gloomily,  "  if  we're  here." 

But  he  didn't  notice,  so  she  didn't  have  to  ex- 
plain. Then  Mrs.  Gray  tapped  on  the  window, 
and  we  went  in,  and  ate  a  great  many  waffles ;  and 
Mrs.  Gray,  in  her  pretty  figured  silk  and  long 
chain,  was  very  polite  to  us,  exactly  as  if  we  were  a 
real  party.  And  when  we  got  up  from  the  table,  it 
was  time  to  go  home. 

"  I'm  so  sorry,"  said  she.  "  I  hoped  we  could 
have  some  singing.  But  come  again  soon.  Come 
to-morrow  night  if  you  can.  We'll  have  something 
nice." 

"  We'd  like  to,"  said  Marcia,  earnestly.  "  We'd 
like  to  very  much.  You  see — "  There  she 
stopped,  but  we  knew  she  was  on  the  point  of  say- 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         299 

ing  we  might  go  away  to  live  and  the  chances  of 
seeing  her  and  Flutino  would  be  few. 

Flutino  walked  home  with  us  and  said  he 
wouldn't  come  in.  The  Grandmother  must  want 
us  for  something.  And  when  we  went  silently  into 
the  house,  there  were  the  Grandmother  and  Titania 
in  the  sitting  room,  only  not  quite  as  we  had  left 
them.  They  were  before  the  fire;  and  as  soon  as 
we  had  even  opened  the  door,  they  both  called 
out :  — 

"  Come  in  !     Get  your  things  off  and  come  in." 

We  did  get  our  things  off,  but  without  much 
hope  that  anything  desirable  was  to  happen  to  us. 
In  spite  of  our  knowing  how  splendid  Titania  had 
been  to  us  and  how  square  she  was,  I  couldn't  help 
feeling  she  had  hinted  to  Grandmother  that  some- 
thing was  to  be  told  her,  and  that  we  were  being 
called  in  to  "  '  fess  ".  There  were  other  chairs  at 
the  fire.  We  were  all  expected  to  sit  down.  We 
did  it  stiffly,  and  then  Titania  got  hold  of  one  of 
Marcia's  hands  and  laughed  a  little,  and  said :  — 

"  Let  me  hang  on  to  somebody.  I'm  going  to 
tell  a  story,  and  I'm  nervous." 

She  looked  —  oh,  prettier  than  I  had  ever  seen 
her.     She  was  in  white,  and  there  was  a  fine  gold 


300  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

circle  round  her  head.  We  stopped  thinking  about 
ourselves,  and  began  to  think  of  Titania.  At  least 
I  did,  and  I  believe  we  all  felt  very  much  alike. 

"  I've  got  to  make  a  kind  of  confession/*  said 
she.  "  I've  been  pretty  naughty.  The  Grand- 
mother thinks  I  have,  and  nobody's  going  to  like 
me  any  more  till  I  tell  just  how  it  was." 

"  My  dear  ! "  said  Grandma.  "  Others  have  been 
naughtier  than  you." 

"Yes,  I  know  you  think  so,"  said  Titania,  "and 
besides,  you'll  like  me  whether  I  deserve  it  or 
not.  But  nobody  else  will.  So  I'm  going  to 
'fess.  You  didn't  see  Uncle  Terry  anywhere,  did 
you,  girls  ? " 

Yes,  we'd  seen  him  going  "  up  street ". 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  maybe  he'll  be  back.  I'll  wait 
a  bit.     Uncle  Terry's  got  to  hear  it,  too." 

It  was  all  very  odd,  and  we  sat  and  looked  at  the 
fire  and  felt  miserable  and  awkward.  But  just  as  I 
was  wondering  whether,  if  Uncle  Terry  didn't  come, 
we  should  sit  there  for  hours  and  stare  at  the  fire 
and  nobody  say  a  word,  the  front  door  opened  and 
he  walked  in. 

"  That  you,  Terry  ?  "  Grandma  called. 

"  Yes,"  said  he. 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         301 

"  Come  in,"  said  Grandma.  "  Come  in  here. 
We're  waiting  for  you." 

He  stopped  to  leave  his  hat  and  coat,  and  then 
he  came  and  stood  in  the  door  a  minute  and  looked 
at  us.  His  eyes  were  big  and  bright,  and  he  looked 
as  if  he  had  been  running  or  thinking  hard  or  even 
laughing,  there  was  so  much  color  and  motion  in 
his  face  ;  yet  he  seemed  tired,  too. 

"  Come  here,  Terry,"  said  Grandma,  quietly. 
"  Come  and  sit  down." 

He  stood  there  a  second,  and  then  Titania  looked 
up  at  him  and  said,  in  a  gentle  voice  :  — 

"  I  am  going  to  tell  a  story.  I  want  you  to  hear 
it  and  see  if  I  tell  it  right."  But  he  didn't  move, 
and  then  she  said  :  "  Please  !  "  and  he  came  and 
drew  a  chair  back  a  little  out  of  our  circle  and  sat 
down  in  it.  I  thought  afterward  he  moved  the 
chair  away  because  he  didn't  want  us  to  see  his  face. 

"  This  story,"  said  Titania,  "  is  called  c  The 
Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess'."  A  ripple  of  pleas- 
ure went  over  us  of  the  Tribe.  Surely  things 
couldn't  be  so  bad  if  stories  with  titles  like  that  — 
once-upon-a-time  Titles  Ruth  called  them  —  could 
be  told.     And  sure  enough  that  was  how  she  began. 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Goose  Girl.     I 


302  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

call  her  a  Goose  Girl  because  she  did  nothing  buf 
stupid  things  all  day  and  nearly  all  night,  stupid  as 
tending  geese.     She  was  an  actress,  really." 

Marcia  sat  up  straighter  and  moved  a  little  nearer. 

"Yes,  Marcia,  she  was  on  the  stage.  But  she 
didn't  care  so  very,  very  much  about  it.  Only  she 
could  sing  a  little  and  dance  a  little,  and  she  had  her 
living  to  earn,  and  that  was  a  way  she  knew." 

"  Why  didn't  she  herd  geese  ? "  Kay  inquired, 
and  Marcia  said,  "  Sh !  " 

"  She  did  herd  geese.  The  singing  and  dancing 
were  just  like  herding  geese  to  her.  They  brought 
so  many  people  to  see  her  and  hear  her,  and  half 
the  time  the  people  were  like  geese  exactly.  So 
you  see  she  was  a  Goose  Girl.  Well,  one  day  a 
Prince  came  along,  and  he  said,  c  Will  you  marry 
me?'  cYes,'  said  she,  c  of  course  I  will.  You're 
the  only  Prince  I've  ever  seen.' " 

"  Did  she  love  him  ? "  Ruth  inquired,  in  a 
whisper. 

"  Oh,  yes,  of  course  she  did.  She  wouldn't  have 
married  him  if  she  hadn't.  Now  the  Prince  had 
written  a  play  —  " 

At  that  moment  I  began  to  know  the  Prince  was 
Uncle    Terry.       He    was    sitting    perfectly    still, 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         303 

though  once  or  twice  he  drew  a  long,  long  breath. 
I  heard  him. 

"  It  was  a  queer  play/'  said  Titania.  "  Nobody 
seemed  to  like  it.  He  took  it  to  one  person  after 
another,  and  they'd  read  it  and  say  :  c  It's  a  very 
queer  play.  We  are  not  sure  whether  we  like  it 
very  much,  or  whether  we  don't  like  it  at  all. 
Anyway,  we're  pretty  sure  the  geese  won't  like 
it.  So  we  can't  give  it  to  them.'  Now  the  Goose 
Girl,  having  married  the  Prince,  had  become  a 
Princess,  and  she  said  to  the  Prince,  c  Nobody 
understands  you.  Nobody  but  me.  And  I 
understand  geese,  too.  Geese  go  in  flocks.  If 
you  lead  them  carefully,  they'll  go  just  the  way 
you  want  them  to.'  But  the  Prince  said,  c  I  know 
you  always  made  the  geese  go  the  way  you  wanted 
them  to,  but  I  never  liked  to  have  you  do  it.  You 
were  a  Goose  Girl  then,  but  now  you  are  a  Prin- 
cess.    You  can't  be  leading  geese.' " 

Then  Uncle  Terry  spoke. 

"  Maisie  ! "  said  he,  and  moved  in  his  chair. 

But  Titania  took  no  notice  of  him. 

"  Now  the  Goose  Girl  knew  the  Prince  had 
another  play,  a  little  short  one,  but  just  as  queer. 
And  she  went  to  a  very  powerful  person  she  knew, 


304  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

a  person  that  was  always  trying  to  please  the  geese, 
and  she  said  to  him,  c  Will  you  put  on  a  little  queer 
play,  if  I  tell  you  I  know  the  geese  will  like  it  ? ' 
So  he  read  the  play,  and  he  said,  c  I'll  put  it  on  if 
you'll  play  in  it,  and  show  the  geese  just  what  to 
like/  'Why,  yes,'  said  she,  CI  will.  But  perhaps 
you'd  better  not  tell  the  Prince  till  after  he's  sold  it 
to  you.'  There  was  where  she  began  to  be  hateful 
and  wrong  and  bad.  She  loved  the  Prince,  but  she 
didn't  tell  him  that." 

It  began  to  seem  to  me  as  if  there  was  the  very 
mischief  in  not  telling  things  to  people  you  loved. 

"  So  the  person  bought  the  play,  and  then  the 
Princess  said  to  the  Prince,  c  I  am  going  to  play  in 
it.'  cNo,  you  are  not,'  said  he.  cYes,  I  am,'  said 
she.  c  It's  the  only  way  the  geese  will  like  it.'  c  I 
forbid  it,'  said  he.     c  I  can't  help  it,'  said  she." 

cc  Maisie,  don't !  "  said  Uncle  Terry.  His  voice 
sounded  so  miserable  that  Ruth  ran  round  to  him 
and  stood  beside  him  ready  to  kiss  the  top  of  his 
head.  That  was  her  favorite  way  with  him  ;  but 
he  didn't  notice  her. 

"cThen  you  don't  love  me/  said  he.  cThen 
you  don't  understand  me,'  said  she.  But  she  knew 
the  most  important  thing  in  the  world  was  to  get 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         305 

the  little  play  played,  and  she  thought  he'd  forgive 
her  afterward,  when  he  saw  how  well  it  came  out. 
And  he  left  her  and  ran  home  to  the  most  beautiful 
lady  in  the  world,  and  sat  down  and  wrote  poetry, 
and  the  Goose  Girl  played  in  the  play,  and  all  the 
geese  loved  it.  And  then  she  wrote  to  him : 
c  Isn't  it  time  for  us  to  see  each  other?  For  I've 
done  driving  geese,  and  I  want  to  be  a  Princess 
again/     And  what  do  you  think  he  said  ?  " 

"  Tell,"  said  Marcia. 

"  I  can't,"  said  Titania.      "  It  broke  her  heart." 

"  Til  tell,"  said  Uncle  Terry.  "  He  didn't  say 
anything.  He  didn't  answer  the  letter.  I  was  a 
dolt  and  a  fool  and  a  brute." 

"  You  see,"  said  Titania  to  us,  "  he  thought  she 
didn't  care  about  him,  or  she  couldn't  have  done 
what  he  asked  her  not  to." 

"  Silly !  "  said  Grandmother.  cc  And  you  had  to 
come  'way  on  here,  Maisie,  to  see  him  and  help  us 
all  out  of  our  scrapes." 

"  I  never  should,"  said  Titania,  looking  straight 
across  us  at  Uncle  Terry,  and  seeming  for  a  minute 
a  little  proud,  "if  I  hadn't  crossed  with  Tabitha 
and  she  told  me  the  Grandmother  said  you  weren't 
—  weren't  having  a  very  good  time,  either." 
x 


306  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

Uncle  Terry  got  up  and  stepped  over  my  feet  to 
Titania,  and  put  out  both  his  hands  to  her.  She 
didn't  wait  a  minute.  She  sprang  up  and  gave  him 
hers. 

"  Maisie,"  said  he,  "  Fm  not  a  prince.  I'm  a 
chump  and  a  selfish  brute.  If  you  want  to  act,  you 
shall,  and  I'll  go  with  you." 

Then  he  bent  down  and  kissed  her  hand.  He 
seemed  to  kiss  her  rings  instead  of  her  hand ;  but  I 
saw  it  was  a  plain  gold  ring  he  kissed. 

"  No,  dear/'  said  Titania,  "  I  don't  want  to  act. 
But  I  did  want  the  plays  to  go,  and  now  I  think 
they  will." 

"  Speaking  of  Tabitha  —  "  said  Grandma.  She 
was  wiping  her  spectacles  and  then  she  wiped  her 
eyes. 

But  she  was  not  allowed  to  finish.  Whether  it 
was  that  we  were  all  so  excited  with  goose  girls  and 
princesses  and  Uncle  Terry's  being  hateful  and 
Titania's  being  naughty,  I  don't  know ;  but  Marcia 
seemed  to  throw  herself  at  Grandma  and  sat  there 
on  the  floor,  her  elbows  on  Grandmother's  lap. 
And  Kay  hurled  herself  down  on  the  other  side, 
and  since  it  seemed  to  be  the  fashion,  Ruth  and  I 
tried  to  wedge  in  between. 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         307 

"  Grandma/'  said  Marcia,  "  where  we  went  That 
Night  was  —  " 

"  Ruth's  afraid,  you  know,  afraid  of  the  dark  and 
lots  of  things/'  said  Kay.  "And  she  stayed  all 
night  alone  in  the  State  House.  And  we  knew  she 
was  going  to  sometime  —  " 

"  That  is,  we  knew  she  was  going  to  do  lots  of 
such  things,"  said  Marcia,  "  only  we  didn't  know 
which,  any  night.  And  when  we  waked  up  and 
missed  her  and  her  bed  hadn't  been  slept  in,  we  got 
scared  and  we  went  to  find  her.  And  we  couldn't 
find  her  —  " 

"They  never  thought  of  the  State  House,"  said 
Ruth,  proudly.     "  I  was  there  all  the  time." 

The  Grandmother  was  looking  from  one  to  an- 
other of  the  eager  faces.  She  looked  almost  as 
excited  as  they.  And  what  do  you  think  she  said  ? 
She  didn't  say,  "  Nobody  must  ever  do  such  a  thing 
again."  She  didn't  prim  her  mouth  and  say,  "  I'm 
very  glad  you've  made  up  your  minds  to  tell." 
She  just  leaned  over  Ruth  and  stroked  back  her 
hair  and  said,  "  My  lambie,  is  that  true  ?  Are  you 
really  afraid  of  things  and  Grandma  didn't  know  it  ?  " 

But  Ruth  didn't  feel  afraid  then,  the  least  bit.  I 
understood  how  that  was.    When  there  are  a  lot  of 


308  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

people  in  the  room,  and  the  light  is  bright,  and  the 
fire  dances,  you  don't  think  you'll  ever  be  afraid 
again.  So  she  was  telling  only  the  truth  when  she 
smiled  at  Grandma  and  said  :  — 

"  Oh,  I  shan't  be  any  more.     I've  outgrown  it." 

And  really,  as  I  remember  back,  I  believe  she 
wasn't,  and  I  wasn't,  either.  For  as  soon  as  the 
grown-ups  found  out  we  had  felt  that  way,  they 
took  pains  to  show  us  the  Dark  is  just  as  kind  as 
the  Light,  and  that,  if  we  go  along  the  highway 
carrying  our  pat  of  butter  and  our  loaf  of  bread,  as 
we're  told,  the  Wolf  in  the  Wood  won't  hear  us 
and  the  Bear  will  stay  in  his  den-O. 

But  I  wanted  to  have  something  to  do  on  that 
great  occasion. 

"And  we're  going  — "  I  began,  and  so  anxious 
was  I  to  get  my  word  in  that  my  voice  came  out  in 
a  thin  little  shriek  —  "  we're  going  to  tell  you  every 
single  thing  as  long  as  we  live." 

And  what  do  you  think  the  Grandmother  said 
then  ?  She  smiled  at  me  and  nodded,  as  if  to  say, 
"  I  understand  how  nice  you  mean  to  be." 

But  she  really  said  :  — 

"  You  needn't  tell  me  everything,  dears.  You'll 
have  a  better  time  if  you  keep  some  little  secrets  of 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         309 

your  own.  Only  you  tell  the  things  you'd  better 
tell,  that's  all.     You  can  judge." 

Perhaps  it  wasn't  very  clear ;  but  we  understood. 
She  meant,  "  I'm  not  going  to  spoil  your  fun."  I 
thought  of  something  then  that  I  felt  I  must  know 
at  once.  I  looked  at  Titania,  and  there  Titania 
stood  with  Uncle  Terry's  arm  round  her.  What  a 
happy  Titania !  What  a  happy  Uncle  Terry  !  I 
had  never  seen  them  look  like  that.  I  was  very 
bold  just  then.  It  seemed  as  if  everybody  could 
say  and  do  anything,  it  was  such  a  lovely  time.  I 
went  to  Titania  and  reached  up  and  whispered  in 
her  ear :  — 

"  Have  you  told  him  about  the  Tribe  ? " 

"  No,"  said  she.     "  No,  indeed  !  " 

cc  Shall  you  ?  "  I  asked  her,  anxiously. 

"  No,"  said  Titania. 

"  Haven't  you  got  to  ?"  I  asked,  "  now  he's  your 
husband  ? " 

She  laughed  out. 

"  Rain-in-the-Face ! "  said  she,  in  a  deep  voice 
nobody  caught  but  me.    "  Big  chief!     Ugh  !  " 

I  turned  about  to  hear  Marcia  asking  the  Grand- 
mother, in  a  tone  as  anxious  as  mine  must  have 
been :  — 


310  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  Grandma,  do  you  mean  if  we  do  everything 
you  say,  we  haven't  got  to  tell  about  all  the  —  games 
and  things  ? " 

"  Why,  little  dears/'  said  Grandma,  "  you  don't 
suppose  I  can't  trust  you  out  of  my  sight  ?  It's 
just  that  this  question  of  the  night  was  a  very 
particular  one.     That's  all." 

"  And  shall  you  write  to  Crandma  and  say  we've 
told,  and  you're  going  to  keep  us  here  ? "  Kay 
asked, 

"  No,"  said  the  Grandmother.  "In  the  morning 
I  shall  telegraph.  But,  Kay,  you  must  try  to  get 
over  that  way  you  have  of  saying  c  Grandma'.  It 
sounds  like  c  Crandma'." 

We  looked  at  one  another.  Was  that  one  of 
the  many  things  we  ought  to  tell  ?  We  thought 
not. 

"  Terry,"  said  Grandma,  "  have  you  had  any 
supper  ? " 

Uncle  Terry  laughed. 

"  No,"  said  he.  "  I  believe  I  was  walking  at 
supper  time.  I  took  a  walk  —  thinking  over 
Maisies  and  things." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Grandmother,  "  you  two  go 
out  in   the  kitchen  and  see  if  Mary  hasn't  left  a 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         311 

little  tray  on  the  pantry  shelf.  Mary's  gone  to 
church." 

They  turned  away,  his  arm  still  about  Titania's 
waist;  but  at  the  door  they  stopped.  I  had  been 
watching  them,  and  so  had  Kay  and  Ruth  and 
Marcia.  My  throat  felt  very  choky,  and  I  swal- 
lowed hard.  I  had  suddenly  thought,  as  I  saw 
them  walking  off  like  the  Prince  and  Princess  gone 
to  be  happy  ever  after,  that  Titania  was  his.  She 
wasn't  ours  any  more.     We  had  lost  her. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  said  she ;  and  Uncle  Terry 
waited. 

She  came  back  to  us.  She  took  Marcia's  face  by 
the  chin  and  lifted  it  and  kissed  it.  Then  she 
kissed  Kay  and  Ruth,  and  then  she  kissed  me. 
She  looked  very  sweet  and  serious,  but  she  smiled 
at  us. 

"  Rehearsal  to-morrow,"  she  said.  cc  Ten  o'clock 
sharp.     Merchant  of  Venice." 

Marcia  cried  out  in  rapture. 

"  Oh  ! "  said  she,  "  are  we  going  to  have  it  just 
the  same  ? " 

"Why,  yes,"  Titania  said.     "  Of  course  we  are." 

Kay  dared  her  question. 

"  Shall  you  stay  till  Amy  Fullerton  comes  ?  " 


3T2  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

"  I  shall  stay,"  said  Titania,  "  forever !  If  the 
Grandmother'll  let  me.  And  the  Prince.  Come, 
poor  hungry  boy  !  " 

"  Oh,  what  will  Aunt  Tabitha  say?  M  I  cried  out, 
and  the  Grandmother  called  to  me :  — 

"Speaking  of  Tabitha, —  I've  had  a  note  from 
her,  Laura,  and  she  wants  me  to  tell  you  there's 
something  lovely  for  you  to  hear  in  her  next  letter. 
What  should  you  say  if  she  should  marry  that  nice 
Mr.  Meredith,  and  we  all  went  over  to  see  her  next 
summer  and  then  you  came  back  to  live  with 
me?" 

What  should  I  say  ?  I  didn't  know.  I  was  so 
confused  with  all  this  talk  of  husbands  and  the  sight 
of  Uncle  Terry's  arm  round  Titania's  waist  that  I 
could  only  breathe,  "  Oh,  my  !  "  I  wanted  to  live 
with  them  both,  the  Grandmother  and  Aunt 
Tabitha;  but  they  were  so  dear  they'd  probably 
manage  it  somehow. 

"  Tabitha's  so  humorous  about  it,"  said  the 
Grandmother.  "  Let  me  see,  where's  her  letter  ? 
Oh,  here  it  is.  This  is  what  she  writes :  c  You 
have  always  said  I  ought  to  change  my  name.  So 
now  I'm  going  to  do  it.  Only  it's  the  last  name 
I'm  going  to  change,  not  the  first.'      Now  run," 


The  Goose  Girl  and  the  Princess         313 

said  Grandma.  "This  has  been  a  most  exciting 
evening.  I  think  I  shall  go  to  bed  myself.  I'll 
come  and  tuck  you  in." 

We  went  upstairs  without  another  word.  I  sup- 
pose we,  too,  were  tired,  but  it  seemed  as  if  every- 
thing was  perfectly  splendid  and  was  going  to  be 
"  forever  ",  as  Titania  said.  Only  Ruth  was  puz- 
zled.    She  stopped  us  at  the  head  of  the  stairs. 

"  I  don't  know  now,"  said  she,  "  which  wife 
Titania  is." 

Pete  had  escaped  from  the  kitchen,  and  came 
hurtling  up  the  stairs,  and  Marcia  stooped  to  collar 
him. 

"  Which  wife  ?  "  repeated  Kay.  "  Why,  goonie, 
he's  had  only  one." 

"  But  there  was  his  first  wife,"  said  Ruth.  She 
was  too  tired  to  think  it  out. 

"We  made  up  the  first  wife,"  said  Marcia. 
"  Titania's  the  first,  the  first  and  second  both. 
Don't  you  see,  goonie?  Come  in  here  and  I'll 
explain  it  to  you." 

So  we  went  into  Kay-and-Marcia's,  and  the  first 
thing  Marcia  did  was  to  run  into  the  string  that  cut 
the  room  in  two. 

"  Joe  Pye  Weed  !  "  said  she.     "  What's  that  ?  " 


j  14  The  Secret  of  the  Clan 

That  same  instant  she  knew,  and  so  did  Kay,  and 
they  laughed,  and  Kay  said  :  — 

"  Here's  my  knife." 

But  before  they  could  cut  the  string,  Pete  began 
jumping  over  it  like  a  circus  dog  practising  his 
tricks  ;  and  we  clapped  and  clapped  and  Marcia 
cried  :  — 

"  Good  dog !     Best  dog  in  the  Tribe  !  " 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


npHE    following    pages    contain    advertisements    of 
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for  boys  and  girls. 


EVERY  BOY'S  AND  GIRL'S  SERIES 

A  series  of  books  which  have  been  proved  to  have 
each  its  points  of  special  appeal  to  young  readers. 

Attractively  bound  in  cloth,  each,  y$  cents 

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Aunt  Jimmy's  Will 

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By  Charles  Major  With  illustrations  by  A.  B.  Frost  and  others 

The  Bennett  Twins 

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Bible  Stories  retold  for  Young  People  (In  one  volume) 

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Dogtown 

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Eight  Secrets 

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Tom  Benton's  Luck 

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Tom  Brown's  School  Days 

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Trapper  "Jim" 

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The  Youngest  Girl  in  the  School 

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The  Railway  Children 
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The  Phoenix  and  the  Carpet 

By  E.  Nesbit 

"Carrots":  Just  a  Little  Boy 

By  Mrs.  Molesworth 

Us:  An  Old-Fashioned  Story 
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-  Continued 


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With  illustrations 


With  illustrations 


With  fifty  illustrations  by  John  Tenniel 


With  illustrations 


With  illustrations  by  Arthur  Hughes 
and  Sidney  Hall 

With  many  illustrations  by  the  author 


Illustrated 

With  illustrations  by  C.  E.  Brock 

With  illustrations  by  Charles  E.  Brock 

Illustrated  by  H.  R.  Millar 

Illustrated  by  Walter  Crane 

Illustrated 

Illustrated 


Illustrated  by  H.  A.  Hart,  F.  P.  Safford,  and 
R.  McGowan 
The  Story  of  a  Red  Deer 
By  J.  W.  Fortescue 

The  Little  Lame  Prince 

By  Dinah  Mulock  Craik,  author  of  "John  Halifax,  Gentleman  * 


NEW   STORIES   FOR   BOYS 


Deering  of  Deal 


By  Latta  Griswold.    With  illustrations  by  George  C.  Harper, 

Cloth,  i2mo.    §1.25 

This  is  the  kind  of  a  story  which  keeps  boys  up  late  at  night  to  finish.  Tony  Deer- 
ing, the  hero,  is  just  good  enough  and  just  bad  enough  to  appeal  to  every  lad  from 
twelve  to  twenty  —  and  to  make  some  of  the  lads'  fathers  brighten  up  a  bit,  too. 
Tony  goes  to  Deal  School ;  the  reader  meets  him  upon  his  entrance  to  the  first  form 
and  he  follows  him  for  three  or  four  years  through  hazing  episodes,  football  games 
and  other  school  contests,  debates  and  secret  organization  fights,  forbidden  spreads 
and  temporary  disgraces,  to  his  graduation  as  one  of  the  most  popular  fellows  the 
school  has  ever  produced. 


Sam 


By  Edmund  L.  Pearson,  author  of  "  The  Believing  Years." 

Cloth,  121710.      %I.2$ 

Some  of  the  boys  whose  acquaintance  the  reader  made  in  Mr.  Pearson's  former  book 
go  for  a  cruise  on  a  small  schooner  with  an  old  sea  captain.  The  adventures  which 
they  have,  some  of  them  exciting,  others  amusing,  as  they  explore  the  rivers,  the 
bays,  the  ocean  and  the  small  towns  of  the  New  England  coast,  make  up  the  book. 
This  is  all  material  in  the  handling  of  which  Mr.  Pearson  is  particularly  adept,  giv- 
ing him  delightful  opportunity  for  the  display  of  those  whimsicalities  which  form  half 
the  charm  of  his  writing.  The  possibility  of  meeting  an  occasional  pirate  ship  or  of 
uncovering  buried  treasure  or  of  finding  a  smuggler's  cave  —  possibilities  belief  in 
which  makes  life  half  worth  living  to  the  average  boy  —  all  come  into  the  action 
naturally  and  the  whole  trip  is  invested  with  mystery. 


Don't  Give  Up  the  Ship 


By  C.  S.  Wood.     Frontispiece  in  colors  and  half-tone  plates  by 
Frank  Merrill. 

Decorated  cloth,  i2tno.    $1.25 

With  Perry's  famous  victory  on  Lake  Erie  as  the  center  of  interest  Mr.  Wood  has 
written  a  stirring  story  of  the  War  of  1812.  Beginning  just  before  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities  he  follows  the  career  of  a  vigorous  young  fellow  who  attaches  himself  to 
Perry  and  renders  no  little  service  to  the  government  in  the  campaign.  Incidentally 
a  splendid  pen  picture  of  the  Commander  of  the  Lakes  is  given.  The  book  is  one 
which  should  strike  home  to  the  hearts  of  the  American  youth  to-day,  one  hundred 
years  after  the  events  so  vividly  described. 


THE   MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


Peeps  at  Many  Lands 

Travel  books  which  aim  to  describe  foreign  places 
with  special  reference  to  the  interests  of  young 
readers.  They  deal  with  children's  life  in  home 
and  school,  their  games  and  occupations,  etc. 

Each  is  illustrated  with  12  colored  plates 
and  sells  at  55  cents  by  mail,  6$  cents 


The  volumes  included 

BELGIUM 

BURMA 

CANADA 

CEYLON 

CHINA 

CORSICA 

DENMARK 

EDINBURG 

EGYPT 

ENGLAND 

FINLAND 

FRANCE 

GERMANY 

GREECE 

HOLLAND 

HOLY  LAND 

ICELAND 


in  the  series :  — 

INDIA 

IRELAND 

ITALY 

JAMAICA 

JAPAN 

KOREA 

MOROCCO 

NEW  ZEALAND 

NORWAY 

PARIS 

PORTUGAL 

RUSSIA 

SCOTLAND 

SI  AM 

SOUTH  AFRICA 

SOUTH  SEAS 

SPAIN 


SWITZERLAND 


PUBLISHED   BY 

THE    MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

64-66  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


Wmmn 


RETU 


norther! 

Bldg.400 
Universe 
Richmom 

ALL  BOC 

•  2-mc 
(510: 

•  1  -ye# 
boo 

•  Ren  :. 
day 


THIS  B0°k  is  W7*  THe  m 


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<WL  £g  j 


r.P 


12,000(11/95) 


392456 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


